COVID-19 has taken a toll on the world, and Mentor a Mentor’s instructors and sites are no different. Things came to a crashing halt when Coronavirus began to spread in northern Mexico earlier this year. In recent days the state of Chihuahua has passed from orange status to red as cases of the virus have surged locally and hospitals are overwhelmed. Yet amidst these challenges there have been some beautiful moments along the way!
In Ciudad Juarez, the secondary school (Secundaria Técnica 94) where instructor Daniel Pineda teaches physical education and Mentor a Mentor breakdance classes, closed in the spring and has yet to reopen. School classes have continued via remote learning but many students are unfortunately falling through the cracks. With distance learning, only roughly 65-70% of students are completing their academic work. Many youth in the region do not have access to a computer or internet at home, while others have simply just not shown up. Classwork has been limited as to not overwhelm the students during this stressful time. Daniel and the other teachers at his school are doing their best to support their students in every way possible!
In Chihuahua City, orphanage Adonai has ramped up cleaning efforts in order to keep themselves safe from the Coronavirus, and they are now preparing for the desert cold that is upon them as winter nears. The lack of school and programming for the children is taxing on directors Luis and Cecy with their already limited staff. Yet thankfully all have remained healthy and staff are doing their best at keeping the children safe, busy and with added structure at home!
Mentor a Mentor instructors Gabriel (capoeira) and Brenda (music) halted their classes with the children at Adonai with the onset of the pandemic. Gabriel however was able to briefly teach his capoeira courses outdoors with the children earlier this fall while implementing proper precautions. He was surprised at how motivated the children and youth were during these sessions, all of them were eager to join classes whereas before some of their interest had waned. As it turns out, during quarantine they had seen a television program on martial arts, and upon realizing that Capoeira also is a martial art, they came in even more energized to learn. Recently as things in the state have continued to worsen classes have again been put on hold, but we hope the children maintain their enthusiasm for when Gabriel is able to instruct in person again.
For music instructor Brenda, there have been challenges with musical instruments and speakers needing some fine tuning or repairs after being left unattended for the spring and summer months. Instructor Gabriel however is helping with some of the repairs; hopefully they will be ready to go once Brenda can instruct music again in person!
Youth from Casa Hogar Adonai perform a song they learned with Brenda (February 2020)
Although Mentor a Mentor instructors have been unable to teach their classes in person through most of the lockdown, Mentor a Mentor is compensating for the hours of classes instructors would normally be teaching in the hopes of maintaining some stability for them and keeping them prepared to teach as soon as the state of the pandemic in Chihuahua improves.
We are grateful for our instructors' good health, we hope and pray it continues for them as well as those at Orphanage Adonai and Secundaria Técnica 94 in Juarez through the peak of the pandemic. If you are interested in supporting Mentor a Mentor as we support our instructors and sites, please visit our Support page here.
Stay healthy!