COVID-19 Bolivia Project #50807

Provide remote learning during COVID-19 crisis

A microproject by Help Bolivia Foundation

Provide remote learning during COVID-19 crisis

Project Report | Jul 3, 2021
July Report

By Lydia Hill | Project Leader

Help Bolivia employee Daniel with the new tablets

Bolivia is starting to come out of its third wave of COVID-19. The economy is still repressed, and will take years to recover. The pandemic crisis has driven more families into poverty. Twice this year we have increased the number of children in our programs due to the need, and we expect to keep increasing as Bolivia recovers.

We are pleased to provide this update to you on the progress of our tablet project. This month 13 more tablets have been purchased for the students to use at the Tahuantinsuyo Community Centre for their online classes. Combined with the start of our computer lab, the children are now well on their way to having what they need to keep up with their online learning. Our goal was to have one tablet per family, and we are almost there! We are so grateful to our donors for making this possible. Education is the way out of the cycle of poverty, and we could not do this without you. Thank you.

This project has been retired, and a new one has been created for the combined tablets & desktops required at the centre, based on what is needed. Please follow our progress on our website, and through our other GlobalGiving pages. Thank you again for your interest and support!

All the best for a safe and healthy summer!

Children keep busy during winter break

Hike to the Devil's Tooth on a warm winter day

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Apr 7, 2021
Tablet Update for April

By Lydia Hill | Project Leader

Using tablets at the centre

Happy Spring!

We are very excited to write this report, as there has been some exciting progress with this project!

In March wifi was installed at the Tahuantinsuyo Community Centre, after a delay of about 3 months due to the high demand for this service. The Bolivian government decided that the 2021 school year would be online for urban students, making it more important than ever for the children to obtain both wifi and a device to access online education. Once wifi was set up at the centre, the children began coming in for their online classes, which they could access with their tablets. Most families were struggling with sporadic internet at home that we provided with prepaid SIM cards. With wifi at the centre, the children have somewhere to go to learn safely and securely.

With the centre in operation again, our cook, Rosalia, began to prepare food in the kitchen for the families to take home in addition to dry goods. It will be awhile yet before the children return full time and eat lunch in the centre, but for now it is safe for them to come in for online classes, and to keep up with their education. Our educators and psychologist continue to support the children both at the centre and at their homes.

While the tablets have been a great way for the children to access their online classes, it became apparent that desk top computers would be even more beneficial given that the children could write reports and then print them at the centre. Last week 4 computers were set up with funds sent to Bolivia last month for this very purpose. In addition to the computers, a printer/copier was purchased so that the printed curriculum materials sold by the schools could be copied for the families that could not otherwise afford all that they needed for their children. At long last, our computer lab is up and running! And the timing could not be more perfect. The families are grateful that their children will not be left behind. Thank you for that.

We are extremely grateful for donors like yourself that made this possible. We will continue to fundraise for both tablets and computers (4 is not enough for 64 children!), and to that end we have created a joint fundraiser page on GlobalGiving and will be shutting this one down. The pandemic is far from over in Bolivia, with no vaccine even on the horizon, so the children will be needing these devices for school work for a long time to come.

Thank you so much again. You have provided hope, and the means of moving forward during very troubling times. We hope you enjoy the photos and video - linked below. Muchas gracias.

Using tablets at the centre

Using the new computers

Links:

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