Even though Harker started online learning on Monday (3/16), WiSTEM's officer teams met to continue on club meetings.
On Friday, April 10, WiSTEM members spoke with Zach, the club’s liaison with the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER) in Kenya. WISER is a nonprofit that provides education and healthcare to young girls, and WiSTEM has been donating $3000 every year from fundraisers to sponsor the education of a current senior named Hilary.
During the Zoom call, Zach shared the effects of COVID-19 on the WISER organization and Kenya in general.
WISER’s decision to shift to an online format was released a few days after Harker’s announcement on March 12. As soon as the 1st case in Kenya was confirmed on March 13th, the Kenyan government quickly responded and elucidated the necessary measures every organization needed to follow.
WISER students had 3 days of COVID-19 prevention training, equipping them with the ability to train their families and stay safe. Since then, the school has shifted to a format based on messaging. WISER ensured that each student’s family has at least one smartphone. Using Whatsapp, teachers text their students worksheets. After students download and work on the assignments, they re-upload their homework onto the Whatsapp chat.
In schools where not all families have access to a smartphone, school officials have set up a system where students package their work and drop it off at a predetermined location. Teachers then come and pick up the student’s parcel to grade.
WISER is lucky to be in a stable position, and the students are supported in every step during this difficult time. Zach pointed out that other young girls in Kenya will face several challenges. Females are disproportionately affected as spikes in domestic abuse and teenage pregnancy become even more prevalent due to the lack of secure environments. Additionally, there is a concern that significantly less girls will have the ability to return to school next year.
Considering Kenya at a broader scale, as transportation systems are shut down, people with limited income are struggling to deal with the distance to healthcare clinics. For example, WISER is based in Muhuru bay, and in order to obtain a CT scan, individuals must drive to a hospital an hour away. Cancer treatments and ventilators are 3 hours away. Without Matatus (Kenyan buses), several people are unable to get to hospitals.
Buying resources is also a challenge. Kenya is divided into county systems, and large counties have been shut down. As a result, people who were used to crossing county borders in order to purchase food are now unable to do so.
The social media sphere contributes its own set of problems as well. Misinformation diminishes the public’s understanding of the Coronavirus leading to disregard or mishandling of situations. A unique issue to rural areas is that families are used to riding out illnesses, trying to recover from COVID-19 as they would have for another disease.
Considering these issues, how can we help? Advocacy is critical to ameliorating the conditions. It’s important for all of us to continue to share accurate information with each other, stay updated, and draw attention to challenges that may be overlooked.
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