Learning Anew: Photo Story
by Shirin Bandari
Photo: Teacher Evangeline Montemayor is a volunteer teacher for slow learners and readers in Tibgao. The school has been provided with a kit, such as paper, printers, and laptops. While teachers like Evangeline were given training and reading materials such as story books and flashcards so that all students in the village can have access to education.
In the remote village of Tigbao, Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands, families have been dealing with the direct effects of the pandemic and the super typhoon that hit last December 2021. Children suffered the most- homes, livelihoods, and public infrastructures like schools were severely damaged after the storm.
The pandemic made it challenging for children to learn their modules without the personal presence of their teachers. When Typhoon Odette destroyed the solitary school in Tigbao, children like Kesha Ferol, 7 already struggled to read. But through the educational materials, school kits, and training for teachers and learning aids provided by the European Union Humanitarian Aid, CARE, and ACCORD — Kesha and her classmates have learned to read, write and count, making way for a better chance in life.
Erlyn Ferol teaches her daughter Kesha, 7, to read in their quaint home in Tibgao, Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands. The ongoing pandemic and last year’s Typhoon Odette have directly impacted education in their region.
Kesha is a slow reader; however, various reading materials have helped her to read better. When at home, Kesha tries to sound out each syllable and then words, using the photos as a guide to proper mouth position.
“All our belongings were washed out, even our home. There were no classes for quite some time,” Erlyn recalls.
A Marungko Flip Chart was used during a study session in the CFS. The reading method uses the modern Filipino alphabet and introduces letters based on their sound — making it easier for learners to recognize and remember them.
“It is important for me to help children learn how to read. I have encouraged Kesha so that she can achieve her goals and ambition in life,” teacher Evangeline says.
“I go to school to learn to read and write,” Kesha says.
“After one week of attending classes under the new program, Kesha learned to read. When I ask her to read at home, she can already read properly,” says her mother, Erlyn.
The school materials used by the Ferol family and the children of Tibgao were provided by the European Union Humanitarian Aid and ACCORD after Typhoon Odette hit Dinagat shores last December 2021. A student kit consists of art paper, a drawing book, a music writing book, crayons, an eraser, a writing notebook, a composition notebook, a plastic envelope, a pencil, a ruler, and scissors.
The Immediate and Comprehensive Response for Communities Affected by Typhoon Rai (Odette) is funded by the European Union Humanitarian Aid and jointly implemented by CARE Philippines, ACCORD Incorporated, Action Against Hunger Philippines, National Rural Women Coalition (PKKK), and Plan International in Dinagat Islands, Palawan, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Negros Occidental, and Cebu, in the Philippines.
