The year 2021 was not a year of song and dance but one with hiccups and road bumps – the learning centre was affected not only by the COVID pandemic but floods as well.
Besides the usual monsoon floods in December and January, there was a sudden flood in March 2021. We are thankful that the Lord’s protection was upon them and there were no serious cases of Covid in this community. There was only an approximate four and a half months of learning in total for the children. Despite this short period, it was good to see that the enthusiasm of these children was not dampened. So, when the door to the learning centre was reopened on 1 November for physical classes as declared by MOE, all the children returned with happiness written on their faces. Needless to say, the long break affected the learning process of the children. However, we were glad to see two new students and the return of some of the children who were absent due to health issues and relocation during the pandemic. We are thankful to our Kuantan partners, especially Katherine, who has tirelessly stayed connected with the community leaders and families of the students here, and Mr Hon who has assisted in sending food aids during the lockdown to several of the families in this community.
We look forward to launching the Accelerated Learning Programme in 2022 for the overaged students. With the partnership of volunteer teachers from the Pastors Fellowship in Kuantan coming in to teach the core subjects of English, Maths, Science and Moral, we believe the students here will achieve the desired standard toward the IG pathway. We pray that the community teachers will have a breakthrough in speaking more English and eventually teach these subjects over time as they assist the volunteer teachers in the classrooms and continue to diligently teach and learn from The Good Curriculum.
The learning centre is a vibrant place with many anecdotes to share.
