University classes in Sumatra have been online for three semesters now. Most students returned to their home villages and many who don’t have computers are joining Zoom discussions and doing assignments on their cell phones. The pandemic has disproportionally affected education for the lower classes who have less access to technology and who may lack good internet signals in remote areas.
After several months of delays due to COVID-19, the end of March saw the start of several pilot football projects in south Thailand. We had been planning and surveying with local partners to identify the neediest areas in which to launch the projects. We hope for good beginnings of these projects and practical impact amongst children and youth (7 to 12 years old) from at-risk communities. With new local coaches, SEEDS workers can slowly begin to implement value-based coaching as we seek to improve physical fitness and develop the skills & characters of the children and youth we work with.
2020 was a year of tremendous disruption for the world, and Indonesia was no exception. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in school closures and the cancellation of all in-person teacher training and mentoring for SEEDS partner Yayasan Tunas Aksara and the Saya Suka Membaca (I Love Reading) program.
Having been able to provide emergency food aid to coastal villages in West Sumatra during 2020, SEEDS partner the Perahu Nusantara Foundation has been back in one of those villages training young men with business skills.
SEEDS was already a global organization. Years before COVID-19 united the world’s attention on a single topic, SEEDS had already united people on every inhabited continent through the common thread of hope for Southeast Asia. SEEDS networked professional, educational, medical, and financial resources from diverse nations around the globe to Southeast Asia’s communities.
In unprecedented times, finding opportunities in the difficulties can be a challenge. Together with Indonesian colleagues SEEDS workers in Jakarta have sought to review, respond and (re)create.
SEEDS has recently set up a partnership with Pahlawan University, signed a 5-year MOU, and will bring a Registered Respiratory Therapist and bioethicist from the United States as an education consultant for an initial two years. See this link for the virtual signing ceremony.
With university classes now online, the focus for our SEEDS worker in Sumatra is getting students motivated to practice speaking English. It is too easy for them to not participate in a large online meeting, so other creative ideas are necessary. Breakout rooms help to give them smaller groups for interacting with each other and for practicing their speaking skills. Another social media app lets students make videos of themselves to which other students can respond.
“Mr. David, when can we study again?” The lecturer’s request was quickly echoed by other members of the class WhatsApp group. Covid 19-induced restrictions have indefinitely delayed the SEEDS education consultant’s return to Indonesia to resume teaching academic English to lecturers at a religious state university in Riau.
Our global world has come to an abrupt halt end of March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. How is this affecting SEEDS and its ongoing projects with partners in Southeast Asia?