Argentina: Improving Children Access to Education

ACDI’s Child Support Program continues during the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraging children and adolescents to attend school despite the difficulties. The measure of social distancing ordered by the national government impacted mostly on low income students, forcing teachers to find creative ways to overcame the digital gap and addressing family’s support through one to one directed advice. Godfathers and godmothers were invited to participate and be close to children and schools by sending video messages, photos and audio.

Schools also looked after foodsecurity and clothing, establishing a new service to ship and deliver goods and donations. In those cases where necessary, school fees where covered by the program together with the internet connection that was both sponsored for families and schools. Recently in march, after the summer vacations, students managed to go back to schools, even if winter is expected to be difficult as for Europe, unless a quick vaccination campaign facilitates the situation. For now, less than the 5% of teachers have been vaccinated.

Today, our efforts are directed to support the emotional situation of the students, encouraging them to keep studying and offering them different activities and tools such as computing, gardening, plastic (art) and english workshops.

According with a recent report of the UNICEF, the 97% of Latin American students have not yet returned to the classroom. The COVID19 pandemic continues to paralyze the education of more than 137 million children and adolescents: since the beginning of the pandemic, Latin American students have already lost four times more days of schooling (174) than in the rest of the world.

More than a third of all Latin American countries still do not have a date for the reopening of schools. New data from UNICEF shows that the percentage of students not receiving any form of education has skyrocketed from 4% to 18% in recent months. The COVID19 could remove up to 3 million more children from school in the region. In addition, the pandemic has further widened the educational gap between rich and poor countries. Only half of public school students have access to quality distance education from home, compared to 75% of private school students.

This is happening also in Argentina, where also few rural schools have started to bring presential classes again, while urban areas have no plans to go back to classes until the next lecture year that will start on march 2021. In fact, schools are facing summer holidays that will start on the beginning of December.

The only way we had to face this tremendous challenge was a good teamwork between teachers, directors, families and donors. Here some of the activities we are carrying on since march:

• Helping families charge their phones to facilitate children's access to classes
• Giving extra contribution for the bag prepared by school canteens, to "sweeten" children and provide good nutrition
• Realize virtual workshop for parents to accompany families in isolation
• Buying school supplies so that children can do their homework
• Contribute for photocopies for schoolwork at home and face the lack of internet
• Buying warm clothes and bedding in the winter months
• The school gardening was transferred to children's houses
• School events were also held from the houses
• Individual soponsors participated directly with several actions. For example, a "godmother" read a story to the child she supports, others bought cakes for children's birthdays, sent photos and messages of what they were do during the quarantine
• Children and families also sent photos to their sponsors in Italy when the pandemic started tough in Lombardy on February and march.