Support education throughout COVID-19 in Sri Lanka

Dear Supporters,

Thank you for your kind support towards Street Child’s home-based learning initiative in North-Eastern Sri Lanka. We are pleased to share an update on project progress.

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 cases have risen with a weekly average of over 500 cases per day and 7,000 active cases as of early January 2021. The sudden development of a second wave of the virus in Sri Lanka beginning early October 2020 has resulted in the second sustained closure of schools during the pandemic. As of January 2021, schools remain closed, with prolonged school closure continuing to threaten the long-term prospects of children in marginalised communities who are under-resourced to learn at home.

In response to these anticipated challenges the project has continued to progress in meeting the learning needs of students. Street Child and our local partners have now supported 874 children from remote, rural communities of North-Eastern Sri Lanka with home-based learning. Provision of a learning support package of interactive learning materials and community-based support led by local volunteers has been rolled out to recreate a supported learning environment in the absence of classroom-based learning.  

Focus groups conducted with parents and students have found high engagement and satisfaction rates with the home-based learning approach (95% in Mullaitivu; 100% in Mannar). In focus groups students shared that their understanding of the curriculum was bolstered through the range of supplementary resources including songs, recorded dialogue (including phonics) and stories. Parents reported improving their own understanding of curriculum content, therefore increasing their ability to support their children’s learning. 

To prepare schools in remote, rural communities for resumed school-based learning, 105 teachers have so far received training for inclusive and interactive learning including use of digital learning resources in the classroom upon reopening.

With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and lack of indication of when schools will return to normality, our home-based learning intervention will continue to play a vital role as students navigate their education amid the pandemic. Street Child thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to sharing further progress with you soon.