School life
Here in South Asia, my school has begun a new school year but it looks very different to usual. COVID has meant schools are required to remain closed until 6th August, when the government will reassess the situation.
Like many schools around the world, we are starting the school year online. This has presented many challenges but our teachers and principal have risen to the challenge. Because I’m returning to New Zealand soon, I’ve handed my usual classes over to new teachers. That has left me free to help these new staff members adjust to their roles and help our graduates prepare for their exams. All are working hard to learn to use Google Classroom and switch to this new way of teaching and learning.
The school will face many challenges in the coming months as the lockdown and virus take a toll on our roll numbers. We have already lost a number of students, many due to financial difficulties. This will eventually lead to financial difficulties for the school.
We are trusting that our Father will watch over the school at this time and ensure the necessary finances are available. So far, we have seen many families remain loyal to the school but not quite as many as we’d like. Please join with us in praying for the school and its students who receive an education that can result in a transformation of their lives and those of their family members.
From Carley in South Asia
After school life
Near our house, in the community we serve, there are a number of families with children. Our children play together with them. At first, they played with balls and bikes in the small lane each evening.
One day, our children invited their new friends to come and play at our house. We set up a room with toys, blocks and colouring‑in activities. Outside we had a trampoline, a basketball, and a soccer ball to kick around. It wasn’t long before we had about 10-15 children come over to play in the evenings after school.
While this started informally, we quickly came to realise the importance of providing opportunities and space for these local children to play. In this country, children are taught in formal classrooms by rote learning. We wanted to encourage creativity and freedom to choose how and what to play with at our house.
Nearly all the children in our neighbourhood live with their older grandparents, some living with just their mum or grandmother. This means they have no adult male role model at home. These kids particularly enjoy interacting and playing with my husband. They kick the ball around together and have a great time. It’s been wonderful to get to know the children and meet their families. We hope something good will come from this.
From a Tranzsend worker in South-East Asia
