EduDeo's Response to COVID-19

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, EduDeo has made the following decisions:

- Remove all volunteers who were travelling internationally at the time of the global pandemic announcement. As of March 20, 2020, all EduDeo volunteers have returned home to Canada and were instructed to observe the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

- All volunteer and staff travel has been suspended until November 2020, and we will reassess the situation at that time.

Each of our 10 international partners live in their own unique contexts. Their countries and governments are responding in similar yet different ways to how a pandemic affects their people and communities.

All EduDeo partner schools have closed for the foreseeable future. This means teachers, leaders, and parents must adjust to remote teaching and homeschooling. However, this ranges from difficult to impossible in our partner countries, as not all families have access to computers, internet, or electricity, and face differing levels of literacy.

We remain encouraged by how are partners are tackling these challenges, and how they continue to support and encourage their staff and schools. In-country trainings continue via video conferencing, teachers are delivering learning materials and lunches to students' homes, leaders are brainstorming creative ways to reach remote families, and so much more.

Yet in the midst of this 'new normal,' many of our partners are still experiencing hardships unrelated to the pandemic. Political unrest, domestic terrorism, access to adequate health care, food insecurity, and material poverty are still daily realities for many families.

That is why we remain convinced of EduDeo's long-term work. We believe Christ-centred education is the best way to raise up generations of leaders who will transform their communities. They will love and pray for their enemies. They will creatively fight all forms of poverty. They will show show mercy, act justly, and walk humbly with their God.

Please continue to pray for our partners, both generally and specifically. Prayer transforms communities, so please do not stop praying.


BELIZE

- Pray for wisdom as teachers adjust to homeschooling and remote teaching. Not all families have access to internet or phone, and reaching students at home during social distancing is very difficult.

- Pray for PCSB operations as lower income from schools and international partners affects their daily work and commitment to communities.

- Give thanks for: the ongoing support, encouragement, and prayer teachers and leaders are able to give each other during the crisis.


BURKINA FASO

- Pray for the ongoing conflict and terrorism across the North of Burkina Faso. Plead with God for peace.

- Pray for teachers and leaders as they grapple with remote teaching and homeschooling. Most families cannot access internet or phone at home, so reaching students is incredibly difficult.

- Give thanks for: our partner’s innovative thinking. Though internet is scarce, the best way to reach families is through radio. Our partners are exploring the possibility of using radio to help students learn at home.


DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

- Pray for teachers and their families. Most Sinergia schools are funded solely by tuition, and teachers cannot get paid without it.

- Pray for Sinergia as they struggle to financially support their teachers and staff with little organizational funding.

- Give thanks for: Sinergia’s organizational leadership. They have developed strong relationships with principals and teachers, and are providing much-needed encouragement.


ETHIOPIA

- Pray for EEUC schools. They are run and supported by the church, so closure of churches and schools leaves many families, students, and teachers without the physical, financial, and emotional support they desperately need.

- Pray for students’ at-home learning. Many children come from illiterate homes, making homeschooling difficult or non-existent.

- Give thanks for: the ongoing support EEUC provides its members. Though our partnership is new, and teachers are just getting connected to each other, now is the time for them to rely on this new community.


GHANA

- Pray for INGH: much of their support relies on international funding and their parent organization: International Needs Canada.

- Pray for the multiple programs of INGH: along with education and school support, they also work with communities in areas of health, gender empowerment, Christian discipleship, and child rights. Without support, many of these programs cannot continue.

- Give thanks for: the ongoing support, encouragement, and prayer teachers and leaders are able to give each other during the crisis.


GUATEMALA

- Pray for students that rely on school for their daily meals. Without school, many students don’t eat.

- Pray for teachers and leaders as they struggle with homeschooling and remote teaching when many families do not have internet access or electricity at home.

- Give thanks for: teachers’ creative thinking and determination. Teachers are using social media to connect with parents for at-home learning, as well as dropping meals off for students at home.


HAITI

- Pray for teachers and their families. CRECH schools are funded solely by tuition, and teachers cannot get paid without it.

- Pray for students and their parents. Many families that attend CRECH schools do not have stable jobs and face further uncertainty due to quarantine regulations.

- Give thanks for: our partner’s commitment to prayer. CRECH staff has been meeting every day to pray for their communities and the world.


NICARAGUA

- Pray for the country’s health care system and families that do not have access to adequate health care.

- Pray for fear and uncertainty. Public government schools are not closed and many families fear the effects of this.

- Give thanks for: the regional facilitators who continue to connect and mentor teachers and leaders across the country.


RWANDA

- Pray for encouragement for parents and teachers as they deal with how to homeschool children.

- Pray for key leaders as they find new ways to share their wisdom and encouragement with teachers across the country.

- Give thanks for: the formation of new Christian school association and the encouragement this network can provide during social distancing.


ZAMBIA

- Pray for school communities that no longer have regular healthy contact with their CCAP leaders.

- Pray for teachers who do not have access to electricity, internet, or phones at home as they try to come up with ways to reach each other and their students.

- Give thanks for: the strong leadership of CCAP as they find new ways to support their staff, leaders, and teachers.

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