“Do you have internet? Or, do you have an Imo or Whatsapp account?”- I asked Farzana. I am Farzana’s teacher. I teach 57 students from grade 4. I have been conversating with them over the phone since the COVID-19 outbreak started in Bangladesh. When I asked the question to Farzana, she became silent. I asked her to pass the phone to her parents. Farzana lives with her mother, who mainly works in people’s households. Smartphone is a luxury to them in normal time. Affording smartphone or internet connection were least of their priorities. They could hardly afford television to watch the regular telecast. On the other end, most of the initiatives were digital initiatives. Digital learning might be the future for education. But, there are millions of children like Farzana who cannot afford learning from the internet or use telecommunication media. I wanted to get them connected. I wanted to mitigate the educational gap that digital initiatives are creating, “You must prepare yourself now with what little you have for the struggle ahead.”- this quote from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inspired me the most. I started looking for resources that already exist in our communities. I, along with the team from #schoolme, started to find ways that can support children like Farzana. Farzana didn’t have the internet at home. But, her parents could collect hard copies of anything that I sent them by using the local photocopy shops or cyber cafes. We started planning for Workbooks. But, then again, we also have some challenges. Farzana was totally dependent on self-study. Our Workbooks needed to hold her attraction and make sure that she learned new things while having fun and full interest in them. So, I reached out for help. We discussed it with educators from several nations. I said to them, “Being a teacher, who takes classes in the classroom, I could teach 57 children in one year. But through using the workbook, I could send my voice to every corner of the nation.”
Bangladesh 