Twelve-year-old Kala wipes the palms of her hands on her school uniform. The student seated two seats away from her has stood up to read to the class. Two more classmates to go, and then it will be her turn.
Kala dreads this moment, as she worries about stumbling through the words and sentences. She wishes she could read as well as Kartika, whose words flow from her Tamil text book like a small waterfall in the jungle.
While reading and writing do not come easy to Kala, she is not the only one in her class struggling with school. Many children want to learn, but achieving basic literacy remains a constant challenge.
Mr Sivakumar, a teacher at Kala`s school in Batticaloa, explains that most students get very little support at home: “Many parents have not been to school or have little education themselves €“ sometimes they don`t understand the importance of education.”
Kala`s mother is unable to read, so Kala`s older sister helps her.
In addition, Kala and many of her classmates have to walk several kilometres each day to and from school. In the early morning this isn`t too hard but, by the afternoon, the heat is at its peak. Rural roads in Sri Lanka are mostly untarred and dusty, and there are no large trees to provide shade, so the daily commute can be exhausting.
Most children don’t own proper shoes and come to school in rubber slippers or barefoot. The difficulties children face in travelling to their local school results in high rates of absenteeism, and some children drop out permanently.
Nonetheless, Kala is aware of the importance education: “Reading is important. If anyone asks me to read something, I want to be able to read without fear.
“I need help with reading. Right now, this is what I need help with the most.”
In 2010, ChildFund Vietnam helped to build a much-needed health centre in rural Bach Thong District. Seven years on, the eight-room health centre now provides services to around 500 patients each month €“ more than double the number of people the old clinic served in 2009.
A key priority of the health centre is obstetrics, the branch of medical science concerned with childbirth and caring for and treating pregnant women, and the management of childhood illnesses – with medical staff regularly undertaking training programs in these areas.
Obstetrician Dr Hon has been working in the region for 15 years, and has seen the impact of ChildFund`s work and the new health centre first-hand: “The knowledge I have received from ChildFund`s training programs has been incredibly valuable. With these learnings, I am now very confident and well-prepared for any circumstance that might happen when I help women deliver their babies.”
Prenatal care is one of the most critical services, and healthcare staff are working hard to changing community behaviours – educating mothers-to-be on the importance of regular health checks throughout their pregnancy.
Ngan, a mother of two, gave birth to her first son at the health centre: “I am so thankful for what the staff did for me, as I was an inexperienced first-time mother. I always came to the health centre for check-ups when I was pregnant. The staff helped me to track the progress of my pregnancy and gave me advice on nutrition and health. My baby boy was born here and is now growing really well.”
Since the new health centre has been built, the number of mothers bringing their unwell children for care is growing every year. Children under five years old are involved in a growth monitoring scheme and malnourished children are weighed and measured each month. School-aged children also receive two general health checks every year, and parents learn about nutrition and receive pointers on tracking their children’s development.
Ngan explains that the health centre provides more than just good quality medical support: “The health centre also has a very child-friendly environment, with a playground and a child-focused check-up room. My children never feel scared when coming here.”
