Please read the head’s report about the effect hunger was having on the children in school.
She wrote to us in November 2021 explaining that the economic situation with loss of jobs and high inflation in Colombia meant many of the children couldn’t afford to bring food for lunch. The school was unable to fund a cook and provide food as they previously had. The Trustees raised emergency funds as did Sonia in Colombia and happily there is now a better situation.
In this school year, with help from the supporters of Talitá-Kum, we have managed to solve some of the problems children were having with regards to having nothing to eat at lunchtime; we now provide food so that they have a safe and nutritious lunch each day, which has led to the children demonstrating better academic performance and also they have fewer illnesses.
Prior to providing the daily lunch they were suffering from problems such as gastritis, stomach pain, and headaches. These daily issues worried us and had become a problem for us as teachers, not knowing what to give them or how to help them. We took several children to the health centre where they were evaluated, and we were told they presented problems of malnutrition. Now that we are able to provide lunch for the children the situation has improved.
With the help of a swimming teacher most children have learned to swim and so they enjoy the pool better. In music class we continue to make progress in the teaching and practice of the group with the new instruments acquired; in technology, children have the opportunity to use computers,* learn more easily and put into practice the theory learned.
As to the pandemic, the children have now been vaccinated, and we must wear masks until today; and from tomorrow by order of the Ministry of education, only children who present flu-like symptoms will wear masks and we must also continue with hand washing, and using alcohol to disinfect the school classrooms.
Thank you for all your support and for working with Talita Kum to make it possible for our children to experience a happy school environment where the love and trust they need is provided.
*These were funded by an Italian charity
It is good to see the children and teachers all together again with their musical instruments.
The Covid pandemic has meant that since last year, we had to stop teaching face to face , but we were able to keep going by giving virtual lessons/giving our lessons online. This year we have staggered the teaching timetable so that our pupils could come back to school at different times, thus avoiding having them crowded together. We have had social distancing arrangements in place in our classrooms with class time limited to giving the children any explanations they needed, and have supplemented this with extra guidelines that they could take home to help them keep learning effectively there. Little by little the children have adapted to the new way of learning, and by comparison with the situation last year, the staggered classes system has resulted in much higher levels of motivation both for them and for us teachers.
One of the major problems we faced last year was the internet and the shortage in the children’s homes of IT equipment and reliable connections needed to enable our pupils to access their lessons. We teachers took it upon ourselves to work with our students to make sure they could follow their lessons. We helped by covering some of the internet costs and by finding good quality second-hand IT equipment so that the children could carry on with their schoolwork, and in this way managed to overcome this challenge.
At one stage, the mayor of Chachagüi offered to install wifi masts and provide connectivity to every student in the town, but this hasn’t yet happened as though they did install the system, it doesn’t work properly.
As for the staggered class system, the children have done very well. They have done the work we’ve set them, there haven’t been any problems, and they are still enthusiastic about learning. Seeing their teachers and classmates and being back in the school building has motivated them much more. We notice that they have taken more responsibility for their learning and valued their lessons as something important in their lives.
In 2021 in response to the problems that covid 19 has caused children – depression, aggression, obesity, child abuse, family breakdown – we felt we needed to get permission from the Department of Education and local health authority to be able to work with our students in the Talita Kum school building. They asked us to do a biosecurity assessment and adapt our facilities where necessary: we installed a new sink and bought certain supplies – a digital thermometer, soap, disinfectant, sanitizer etc. They then checked that everything was in place and permission was granted for us to work with the children provided that they attend classes on alternate schedules. This development has enabled us to achieve a better environment both at school and at home with the family[R21] .
Thanks to the financial support that you have given us, the school has been able to comply with all the measures required by the Secretary of Education, the Chachagüi Mayor’s Office and the local health authority. This has enabled the students to come to the school and us to provide a completely safe environment and avoid spreading infection.
When we get to school, the first thing we do before anyone goes into class is take everyone’s temperature, change our masks, disinfect our shoes, wash and dry our hands. Each classroom is thoroughly disinfected and every child has a designated desk, at a specified distance from anyone else. At first it was difficult to get used to wearing masks because of the heat but as the days went by it became the norm.
Each day we work on the areas that the children find most difficult and we explain how to do the work at home. Working like this, we have seen the children make rapid progress and it gives us the opportunity to help those who are having difficulties. The parents have collaborated with us and supported the learning at home, even though, because of the severe shortage of work and money, they weren’t; able to afford to cover internet or mobile phone costs.
In these times, our students and our teachers are very happy that we have had this opportunity to share these new experiences, but we’ve also had so much to learn, both in caring and sharing with those that need us.
Sonia Diaz
Director Talita Kum School
Covid-19 meant that the school had to close in Chachagüí and learning took place at home. This was a challenge for Sonia as some of the children had no wifi or means to receive online lessons or WhatsApp messages.
But the school has managed to provide some means for every child and the mayor of the village is aiming to provide free internet for each family.
Below are some links to videos of lessons and of the children learning at home.
Home lessons (Nature, physical exercise and Spanish)
Home lessons 2 (physical exercise and art)
Home lessons 3 ( Comprehension, technology and exercise)
We have now had commitments of £4800.00 (plus gift aid of £1200) annually from our generous supporters and we are hopeful of a further £1000 before the new year. That would mean we are half way to raising enough funds for the school to continue for another year.
Thank you to all who have supported us. We will be sending you the end of year newsletter before Christmas to let you know what the children have been doing this year – apart from studying very hard!
We are just about to launch our sponsorship programme.
Monthly giving will offer us more certain funding.
Sponsorship offers you a chance to feel more involved and have a personal connection with the school.
Watch this space!
We have published our statements on our GDPR and privacy today.
Please read the details on the GDPR and Privacy Policy page under ABOUT US
During the last year we wrote a great number of applications for funding to Charitable Trusts and Foundations and succeeded in raising £7,000.00 from three charitable trusts. Much of this was for a 2 year project to fund a small salary for Roberto (Founder of the School) to help the school with setting up their admin and to begin to raise funds locally for the school.
We will do a further round of applications this autumn and we will launch a sponsorship programme in the next few weeks. Watch this space……..
TALITA KUM SCHOOL 