Greetings! I am halfway into my trip and thought I would reflect on the impact of the pandemic on our schools. One of the challenges of this trip is that I am meeting people amid the chaos of the pandemic. The first wave of COVID-19 was devastating: with all 200 beds in the hospital occupied with patients day after day for months; with students from the nursing school and staff from Happy Valley School volunteering to care for patients; with funeral after funeral for the hospital chaplain to perform; with the deaths of prominent community members before the vaccines came.
Mission Primary School, Padhar
The indirect effects of COVID-19 are ongoing and will continue to traumatize the community. When the country locked down, the government stopped funding schools. Students couldn’t attend school so families were not paying admission fees, and therefore teachers were not paid for 2 years. Teachers approached these challenges by offering online classes on Whats App, by recording YouTube lessons, and by meeting with students and families in their homes, all without a salary.
With some of the teachers at St. Mark School, Sarni
We provided some salary help last year, but not enough to supplement full teachers’ salaries for 8 schools! In total, we sent over 15,000 USD to support teachers’ salaries for Happy Valley English School, Mission Higher Secondary School and Ebenezer English School. This was enough to help fill the gaps and every dollar is appreciated. But the effects of the financial trauma continue. Our eight schools are located within communities of extreme poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic has just intensified the desperation for help.
But, the financial crisis has affected the world and our donations from friends in the US and Europe have slowed. Non-profits all over the world, in every sector have noticed that donors are reluctant to give. This is felt in churches, in education, in housing programs and especially in small non-profits. The needs have increased and the funding has slowed. Donors have less ‘disposable income’ and more fear about the future. But it takes so little to make a BIG difference here in India.
Felix Convent School, Paratwada
For example, at one of our primary schools, a monthly teacher’s salary is 3000 rupees per month. That is 38 USD per month, meaning to pay for one teacher for ten months is less than 400 USD!
My experience is filled with joy, but it can also provoke other emotions. It all pushes me to continue this work, to give children the opportunity education provides. I hope you will join me in this work.