ITM to Offer Mobile School

In mid-March, just over a month after the Bolivian school year had begun, students were sent home due to concerns over COVID-19. For weeks, schools struggled to figure out a way to continue to educate students in Bolivia. For private schools in the cities this was a relatively easy task, since most families have access to the tools necessary to participate in virtual classes via the internet. But for many rural and low-income families, this was simply not possible.

As urban and private school students continued to receive education, students without access to the internet and a computer were left behind. Advocates for these children and their families called on the Bolivian government to step in to help, but the infrastructure in Bolivia simply could not support any viable solutions. Facing a seemingly impossible situation, the ministry of education finally decided to take a drastic step and end the school year. At the beginning of August it was announced that all students would be promoted to the next grade, despite the fact that many of them had only received a few weeks of education.

Many private schools scrambled to begin offering “enrichment” or “grade-leveling” classes. But these classes were only available to families with the finances, internet connectivity, and technological resources to access them. Meanwhile, the educational gap between these private school students and their peers continues to widen.

As an organization, we see a great opportunity to help meet the educational needs of the children in the communities along the Sécure River, who have been left without educational options for the remainder of the school year. We are currently planning a mobile school that will operate from September to December, or the remainder of the normal Bolivian school year. While we cannot offer a full curriculum, ITM will provide teaching in core subjects to help them maintain what they have learned, and to prepare them for the next school year to begin in February.

Please pray for our ITM missionaries as we organize this mobile school. We trust that the Lord will use this community outreach for His glory. Our desire is not only to see children educated, but for their families to see Christ in and through us as we serve Him and serve others.