What is Covid-19?
The start of the year 2020 has been really rocky and made it a tough beginning for many. Let's take a quick recap of what has been happening here in the Philippines. First, one of the long time dormant volcano, Taal Volcano, erupted on January 12, 2020. It was a phreatomagmatic eruption from its main crater that spewed ashes across Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and some parts of Central Luzon and Ilocos Region, resulting in the suspension of school classes, work schedules, and flights in the area.
Second, cases of African Swine Fever have been confirmed in a number of cities in Metro Manila and some provinces in Luzon, including Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Cavite on February 2020. It reported abnormal mortality of pigs in the said places and posted impact on the human health issues as well as the market economy of meat. I can say everyone was afraid to eat meat that time, you bet.
Lastly, the world began to crumble recently, as a new deadly virus, Novel Corona Virus (2019-nCoV) , which emerged in Wuhan, China on December 2019, began to increase in number of infections and increasing mortality rate. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an illness caused by the novel Corona Virus now called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. It did not only affect China but eventually spread out all over the world including the Philippines, making everyone panic and extra cautious. Every nation locked its territories, set their borders as their precautionary measure from having their people infected with the virus. Up until this point, the virus continuously spreads, infecting vulnerable individuals all over the world. Every country and every one is on war, a war, that we cannot see.
How does Covid- 19 affect mothers?
Since there is a global issue going on, mothers like me have been affected a lot. How?
First, the schooling of our kids have been greatly affected. Classes were suspended. Children were opted to stay home to be safe from Covid-19. School activities were cancelled. Eventually, the school year 2019- 2020 officially ended hanging, making everyone ask "What's next?".
Second, businesses were shut down in every city leaving only those that are in line with essential needs open for service. Employees were obliged to work from home, to be productive still amidst limited resources only. Good for those who are receiving regular monthly salaries. How about those who are not and solely depends on their daily compensations?
How can mothers be productive amidst crisis?
Being a mother during this crisis leaves us the responsibility of how to make our children continuously learning despite the absence of school and its programs, and on how we can survive our daily needs despite the absence of outside jobs. The questions "How can we be productive?" "How can we earn?" "How can I teach my children?". These are just some of issues that mothers out there, like me, are contemplating on.
But here are some good news that I can share.
First, I personally cannot risk the health of my children outside home, However, I also believe that they must not be deprived of education, one year is far too long to miss school. On the other hand, Education is a very broad discipline. I guess, it is during this time that we, as parents, are challenged to generate and materialize ways on how we can fully equip our children with the knowledge they need in the absence of the regular school. We can actually teach our children. Above anyone else, it is us who know our children the most. We know what they can do and what they cannot. We know how they can be recipient to things. We know their pace. We know their attitudes. Not everything is learned in books and classrooms-- some are learned in chores, in play, in the kitchen and dining tables, and mostly on what we let them see in us as their examples. Let us make this world our classroom. I think parents, especially mothers just need to be open-minded, to acknowledge our situation and to create wise solutions instead--- not only for our own children, but for the children and teachers of our families and friends out there. As Prov. 22:6 said, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." It may be hard to believe, but yes, we can be the best teachers to our children.
Second, with the current health issues that Covid-19 is imposing, every business out there opts on remote working. Tasks need to be done, if not requiring physical attendance, remotely. And this is where Virtual Assistance comes in. We can actually equip ourselves to be fit for this kind of jobs. We can help ourselves out, we can train, we can be productive. There are a lot of online training given for mothers like me who needs to be productive even inside the comforts of home. And I believe this is what most mothers want-- freedom of time while earning, children maximizing our motherhood services as well. What can be more rewarding than that?
Let's be productive, mothers!
Think about that.
There are many DepEd Homeschool Providers out there that can assist you with your homeschooling needs. It doesn't have to be all yours, they can assist and train you to be the best for your children.
Furthermore, you can check out Filipino Virtual Assistance and see what they can do to assist you in acquiring your skills to become a competent and efficient virtual assistant, to give the services that this market demands right now. They have been offering a lot of courses that you can choose from. Don't miss them out!
You see, looking at the bright side, this Covid-19 experience made us come back to the basics, to learn how to value what is important for us firsthand. Let us take this global challenge as a test of ourselves, to see what we can do and what we can become out of this. There is more ahead. Let us be responsible, let us be productive!
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