Most of the volunteers providing meals and rations in the slums are also teachers in our Education Quality Addition (EQU+) program that provides children of poor families with after school classes to ensure they keep up and catch up with their school work. More than 20 teachers provide academic support in a fun and entertaining atmosphere to around 500 children six days a week for the entire year. The closing of schools in March was a great concern that we had to respond to and once things opened up a little we came up with a plan that would enable children to continue learning as best as possible given the circumstances. Our coordinators were instructed how to provide a reduced curriculum and visited children going door to door to provide study materials such as activity and work sheets and which they picked up and corrected on a daily basis. There has been tremendous fear, uncertainty and of course boredom at having to stay inside tiny rooms of crowded and filthy slums. Our sunny and ever optimistic soldiers of light have ensured children continued to study and also had something constructive to do. Many parents have told us just how welcome and settling the daily visit of a teacher is for them.
