Covid19 pandemic has greatly affected the education sector in Ecuador and many countries in the world. The lockdown measures taken to stop the spread of the virus restricted student attendance at schools. In May 2020 the virtual classes were reactivated, but due to the conditions of many students it has been very difficult for them to access this modality since access to the internet or devices to connect has been limited or non-existent. This reality has deteriorated the quality of education in Ecuador.
As a consequence, there has been an increase in school dropouts, among other problems, as many students do not have the resources or technical knowledge to connect through any digital platform. Professors from the Julio Jaramillo Educational Unit of Carlos Ruiz Burneo in Santo Domingo commented that many of their students no longer even answer the teachers’ phone calls.
Hombro a Hombro, with the support of Dr. Thomas Young, Shoulder to Shoulder Global and Timmy Global Health, created the “Education for All” project, which seeks to support students who do not have access to the internet and devices to access educational content and do their homework. In this way, it is also expected to motivate them to continue their studies until they return to schools in person.
For this, study rooms have been created with the necessary biosafety standards, with devices with free and free use of the internet. These devices are available from Monday to Friday at 3 times from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Shoulder to Shoulder team accompanies the student users of this service.
“Education for All” has been enthusiastically received by teachers and community leaders. Faced with the country’s limitations to massively immunize the population, this initiative will remain open indefinitely.
Remember that if you want to support this or other Shoulder to Shoulder initiatives, you can visit this page to find out the ways to do it.
