Rising Above the Pandemic
By Elaine Lee
Amidst the pandemic, one man endeavors to uphold the right of education for the most vulnerable in our society.
One of the universal human rights of a child is the right to an education. Sadly, not every child is able to obtain that basic right due to poverty. It was with a heavy burden for the urban poor children that had no access to education that prompted Pastor Albert Tan, Melanie Hurlbut, Stanley Sudhagaran, and Meng Eng, to set up “A School for the Urban Poor”. Along the way, the learning center would find themselves even helping the Rohingya refugees.
With very little in hand but with great faith in a God that provides, LifeBridge Learning Centre (LLC) opened its doors to the urban poor and refugee children on January 1, 2011. With just proceeds from the sale of the book titled “Disappointed by Hope”, published by Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and with a promise of RM5000 from a kind-hearted donor, the school started with a registration of 52 students.
Initially, classes were conducted on the top floor of a 3-storey shop lot in Perai, Penang. However, by January 1, 2013, God had provided LLC with the funds to move into a 4-storey building to accommodate the growing number of students. Today, LLC has 112 students and is headed by Executive Director/Acting Principal Pastor Albert Tan. He is supported by 5 passionate teachers and 2 drivers who ferry the children to and from school.
Choosing to Challenge Covid-19
Pastor Albert Tan, the Executive Director/Acting shared that as 2020 rolled in, there was no hint of the coming storm and classes had already begun as planned. When the pandemic struck the Malaysian shores, the school was closed on March 18 in accordance with the Movement Control Order (MCO).
The first challenge during the pandemic was to help the students’ families who were striving to make ends meet. A good majority of their parents held menial jobs, living from hand to mouth. The parents were now out of work and with hungry stomachs to feed, they were in dire straits. Not wanting to just be a bystander to the plight of the urban poor, Pastor Albert launched a campaign that raised about RM34,500. The funds collected were distributed to the students’ families.
Pastor Albert shared that during the lockdown, the biggest challenge was how to continue providing education when most of the children did not have laptops, tablets, etc. So, for the first MCO, no teaching was done as the students’ families were already to put food on the table, let alone buy any technology devices. Their education came to a standstill during the MCO. Though initially caught off guard by challenges brought about by the pandemic, LLC found ways to cope with the situation during subsequent MCOs.
Pastor Albert related, “The teachers innovatively used WhatsApp video calls for small groups of 8 students each for the online lessons. UNHCR gave 16 tablets to the Upper Primary classes and provided one month’s free data, after which the students had to buy their own data.”
As for the lack of devices and data, Pastor Albert shared that the Directors of LLC sent out requests to sponsors and supporters of LLC to sponsor smartphones. “Some responded. One offered a reconditioned laptop bought online for one of the teachers, and another bought two reconditioned smartphones online for two students who needed them.”
LLC faced the third challenge when the school reopened after the first MCO. They had to implement new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and this was hampered by their lack of resources and utilities.
“Another challenge was how to continue teaching the present curriculum based on the same curriculum taught in government schools when the SOP required classes to be halved,” Pastor Albert said. Rather than throw in the towel and give up, Pastor Albert and his team came up with an alternative plan. He explained their strategy where the school had to divide their big classes into two – one half attended school on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other half on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Pastor Albert also had something to share about the Rohingyas that the center was helping, “Instead of teaching all the subjects, we focused on teaching them English and Mathematics. We figured that these Rohingya students will not be taking exams, so the best thing for them is to learn to speak and write English well and do basic arithmetic since this is the most important skill for them to enhance their chances of getting relocated to an overseas country under the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) programme,” he explained.
Moving Forward
Since LLC was founded, many urban poor and refugee children have been given the opportunity for education. Receiving an education has certainly changed their trajectory and put them on a promising path.
However, today LLC’s goal to be “A School for the Urban Poor” is threatened by the lack of funds. All through its operating years, the school has been in deficit, with its operating expenses exceeding the donations that came in.
“Our monthly operating costs are about RM10,000. We have a monthly shortfall of RM4000,” Pastor Albert revealed. LLC is currently facing a financial challenge as their reserves of RM80,000 have been fully utilized to offset the shortfall. “We have to do a fresh round of fund-raising. And we are praying by the grace of God, that more churches and individuals will come in to help.”
Pastor Albert added, “As for equipment, I have already talked about the need for smartphones and in the future, tablets for the children so that they can have a better learning experience.” Though LLC is recognized and partially supported by the UNHCR, the need is still greater than the supply. Without the required donations coming in, LLC will have to cease operations by the end of 2021. This may end the children’s academic journey.
Today, you and I can make a difference in their lives by being part of the solution. Together, we can pool our resources to enable them to continue their education and give them a better future.
For more information on how to donate to LLC, email Pastor Albert Tan at albertan98.saltshakers@gmail.com
About Elaine Lee
Born, bred, and still residing in Penang, Elaine loves reading, dogs, and taking walks on the beach. Elaine believes that every life experience should be effective agents of change to make us better people on Earth.
