Flour, Cooking Oil and Worksheets - Providing Education and Nutrition

This photo shows people standing far apart from one another. There are bottles of food oil and other food packages ready for distribution.

Distribution of food packages and school work to the local communities.
© German Church School

Ensuring that no one is left behind in the corona crisis

The challenges of home-schooling in Corona times are enormous, even in developed nations like Germany. In developing countries, the situation is even dire – after schools closed down suddenly, countless children were left without any education options during lockdown. The limitations of public life during the current pandemic pose a very serious threat to the lives of many people. CBM and its partners are responding to these threats – loss of livelihood, further impoverishment, and even death.

The situation is further exacerbated for children from poor families - school closures imply not just a loss of education, but it also leads to hunger. For many children, school meals are the only meal of the day.

This also applies to the students of the German Church School in Ethiopia, which is funded by CBM. In addition to worksheets and homework the school is currently also providing meals to its pupils, especially to children from very poor families and children with disabilities.

Education and food for Dagmawi

This photo shows people sitting far apart from each other. There are bottles of food oil and food packages ready to be distributed.

Distribution of food packages and school work to the local communities.

© German Church School

Many countries are trying to provide education through radio and television education programmes. In Ethiopia, however, less than half the population has a radio, let alone a computer or internet access - like 12-year-old Dagmawi, a student at the German Church School in Addis Ababa. For her and her siblings, the loss of school meals weighs much more heavily than the loss of education. Until recently, her father laboriously provided for his family of five by earning money as a cobbler. With the announcement of a strict lockdown, he started losing his daily income.

Sometimes all I can do is just sit here and worry about what to feed my children in the evening.
Dagmawi's father

To support families like Dagmawi’s, the staff of the German Church School now regularly provides basic food such as flour and cooking oil to parents. Children receive homework and continue their education at home. Some receive the learning material via their smartphone. For those without access to the internet, the teachers provide worksheets along with food packages to the parents.

Dagmawi is also benefitting from this set-up. Her teachers regularly call her to ask how she is doing and how she is coping with her homework. She is very happy every time she talks to her teachers.

The German Church School has also had to be innovative during the pandemic – texts in Braille and audio CDs are provided to students with visual impairments, and children with physical disabilities who previously received physiotherapy at school also receive exercises on a CD. This helps them to train their motor skills.

Donate to CBM and Help Save Lives

Help us by donating generously to our Corona Response Fund and contributing to the survival of children and people with disabilities during these trying times.

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