Feelings about the pandemic are very divided. Everyone experiences it in a different way and the consequences are different for everyone. Some are happy to be able to work from home, while for others it is quite a challenge to suddenly start working with children and without colleagues. One has more work and the other loses his job or sees his company go bankrupt. When we ask our employee Susy how she experiences this pandemic, she describes it as a nightmare from which she hopes to wake up every day.
Susy has been working on the project as a teacher for over five years. She has two adolescent sons, who unfortunately have not been able to finish their studies and are still looking for their way in life. Susy hasn’t had much luck in recent years in the field of health. Although it was never really anything very bad, these small disturbing events have made her very anxious. Also, the last few months she has been very scared. Afraid that something will happen to her and her sons will fall without her support. For four months she stayed in Cconoc, a 20-minute drive from Curahuasi, where she only had contact with the family. At the beginning of July, when home visits were allowed, she went back to work.
What do you like most about the job?
The interaction with the children and seeing their happy faces at the end of class, I think that’s great. Or listening to all their questions when you see them again, haha. That makes it all worth it.
What do you find hardest about the job?
I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but I find the distance from house to house quite exhausting. We visit 10 children a day and some of them live far, or live higher up in the village, which makes it a real climb.
What are you running into?
Because I have given the mothers a lot of confidence, they regularly tell me about their problems and ask me for advice. Sometimes I find that difficult. I try to give them answers to their complaints to increase their self-esteem, but I can’t really help them. I don’t like that feeling, because of course you want to make a difference for them.
What would you like to change on the project?
I wouldn’t change anything. Working with children is the best thing that has happened to me!
What is your favourite moment of your working day?
My favourite moment is when I’m getting ready to go to work, knowing that the children are waiting for me full of impatience and joy. That feeling that I can bring an ounce of happiness into their lives makes me very happy.
How are you coping with the pandemic?
To be honest, I’m having a pretty hard time with it. This pandemic is a disease that’s always present. Day after day. No matter how much I try to forget, it’s still crazy to see people with their mouth masks. It’s a trauma. It’s also very hard to worry about the families I visit every day. It’s like a nightmare from which one wants to wake up quickly.
Oye LENA 