Long term supporters Karma Group have once again gone above and beyond by helping students in Bali access education.
With schools closed since March, students have been told to study at home, using online studying tools of Zoom, email and Google Classroom.
It’s not ideal but has been one of the solutions to maintain learning during the pandemic. It all sounds great in theory – but for students from poor families, it’s a new pressure.
Without a smartphone, students can’t access any online learning tools.
Karma Cares Again
Karma Group has previously supported emergency needs by providing transport, computers and urgent sponsorships for children. Their contributions helped to complete two new libraries – one in Bondalem and another at Mangesta.
Now, Karma Group has supported a special effort to provide smartphones for students who had no access previously. The students, all of whom are sponsored by Bali Children’s Project, can now use the smartphones to study at home.
Bali Children’s Project distributed the 24 smartphones to students, who could not believe their luck. Previously, they’d have to go to a neighbor’s or classmate’s house and borrow their phone to study.
It makes a huge difference. Not having access to a smartphone can be a source of embarrassment for students, while not being able to partake in online learning is even more of a problem.
Online Learning is the Future
While Bali has set about a plan for opening schools gradually, this is likely to take months before all schools are open.
Preloaded with educational apps such as DuoLingo and our very own Sex Education web app “It’s My Life” means they’ve instantly got access to new worlds of learning.
Meanwhile as the technological age continues to grow, it’s important for students to be able to use their phones to study – especially during this pandemic.
Educational apps, video channels and websites now play a key part in any child’s education – not to mention smartphone’s abilities to create Word, Excel and other documents. With laptops still difficult to access, a smartphone is the next best thing.
And of course, students can now communicate with schools and classmates.
We are so grateful to supporters Karma Group who have once again helped students in their time of need.
All students signed statement letters with a legal stamp saying that they won’t misuse and solely use the smartphone for school needs. Our local co-ordinators check on this during their monitoring visits (once every two weeks).
Ongoing Need
Laptop computers and smartphones are more important than ever. However, families in poverty can rarely afford these. If you are interested in helping provide technologies to help students learn, please get in touch.
