Above & beyond during Covid
Beth Lopez
PHILIPPINES 2021
On the first day of the hike into the remote mountainous area their pace was slowed by a day of torrential rains, they reach the first village by nightfall. The three days of trekking saw them climbing steep mountain trails and crossing rivers swollen by rains.
The FPTI-Banilad Centre for Professional Development (Banilad) in Cebu went to extraordinary lengths to enable their students to continue their studies when the Covid pandemic hit the Philippines, and the school on the island of Cebu needed to “lockdown” and students return to their villages.
The Banilad staff pivoted their delivery methods; movingto online delivery. However, many students being from poorer families did not have a way to access lessons online. The school sourced sponsor funding which enabled the purchase of tablets and internet data cards. The Director and her staff made the monumental decision to hike into the rural areas and deliver the tablets to their students. The trek was any eye-opener for staff, with them coming to understand the determination of students who walked these same rural trails into the school, enduring rainy days with flooded or slippery paths, and rugged conditions; yet still managing to arrive at school or at their on-the-job training workplace clean and on time!
During their trip, staff were overwhelmed by the gratitude of students and parents alike. Despite the poverty in these homes, staff hiked back down the mountains with gifts of vegetables, root crops, fruit, plants and flowers.
“What teacher would not dedicate themselves to these students who have nothing but are so motivated by a great desire to please their parents and siblings? Without Covid challenges, I would not have discovered the beauty of these students.”