Education in a Time of Coronavirus
Elizabeth Pennington is Communications Officer for Yesterday – Today - Tomorrow and a freelance Journalist. She plans to study a Masters Degree in International Development next year, with a focus on Education in Emergencies and War Crime.
*Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identities.
When the first COVID-19 cases were announced last year, few expected such a Tsunami-like wave to follow. Now, almost ten months on, with approximately 30 million cases worldwide, and rising, in a WHO declared Pandemic, it is crucial that we do not ignore one of the most pressing global issues: children’s access to education.
In a recent campaign, Keeping Girls in the Picture, led by UNESCO, the pandemic could mean almost 11 million girls may never return to education. This places them at even greater risk of early child marriage and gender violence.
As the Communications Officer for a Global Education NGO, Yesterday- Today-Tomorrow (YTT), based in Paris, our team have seen firsthand the impact losing education has on a child’s well-being. Collectively, we have worked in over 40 refugee/migrant camps, centres and squats in over ten countries in Europe and North Africa, with hopes to expand further into conflict areas, where girls are at particular risk.
Since 2016, our research has led us to develop a Learning through Art & Theatre Approach focusing in two key areas: working in and for child/ youth populations in emergency situations, designing psychosocial support, children’s-rights and peace/capacity building programs and working within the formal school structure, were our programs promote inclusion, diversity and the reduction of prejudice/racism for children and teachers. These programs, in line with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, are adaptable to the local needs of the refugee, migrant and/or displaced populations.
Through our psychosocial support workshops, participants are invited to draw their past (Yesterday), their present (Today) and their future lives (Tomorrow). These drawings, collected from thousands of individuals since 2016, aged between 2-70 years old, have allowed us to create our visual database, sharing their stories, irrespective of one’s spoken language.
Our organisation’s Founder, Bryan Mc Cormack said: “With COVID, it is the most fragile populations that are the most affected. (...) Refugee education is or at least should be a priority for the world for the simple reason that having over 70 million refugee/displaced persons, the majority of whom are children, means that we are talking about an enormous percentage of humanity. (...) humanity is everyone’s responsibility.”
Reflecting on the educational impact, I am reminded of a 14 year old Afghan refugee, Amal* who we met in Serbia in 2018. Now 16 and in Germany, she wants to become an author. Through her drawing, she explained how she uses her love of learning to block negativity in her life.
Or Malek*, a nine-year-old Iraqi-Kurdistan refugee, too young to fully understand her trauma, yet articulate enough to explain how she returned from Church to find her family decapitated by ISIS, their bodies hung from a hook on the tree in the garden of their Mosul home.
Now 11 and fluent in four languages, Malek wants to become a doctor, win a Nobel Peace Prize and help her community recover after ISIS occupation.
Malek, like so many young refugees I have met, is not allowing their past to define their future.
As a human right, every child must have the opportunity to engage in education. I believe that education changes lives and saves lives. There is still a grave misunderstanding about who refugees are. At Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, I hope we can be a small part of the larger conversation on inclusive education for refugee and migrant children and for education in emergencies worldwide.
Elizabeth Pennington • March 17, 2021
Mike Fleetham of Thinking Classroom has written a book " Headlines: Inspiration, humour and advice for school leaders ". A collection of original ideas, advice from professionals, quotes, and tips to support and inspire all leaders. Perfect for new and established leaders working in education, especially headteachers. "Being a headteacher is like looking both ways before you cross the road, and then getting hit by an aeroplane." To Enter the Competition To win a copy of Headlines please share your inspiring education or life lesson in no more than 600 words. The winning article will also be published in our next edition of Engage. Send your words of inspiration to admin@stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk 📅 Deadline: 5th September 2025 Stuck on Ideas? Here are some questions and prompts to get you started! What’s the one lesson school didn’t teach you, but life did? Think of a moment that changed your path, what happened? What piece of advice has helped you grow the most? When did a challenge turn into an opportunity for you? What story from your life would inspire someone on the other side of the world? What’s the life lesson that unlocked your next chapter? Your words could uplift, empower and be seen by many. Let your story inspire the world! 🌍💡 Good luck and we cant wait to read all the entries!
This week our CEO Ann and Jude (SSF Ambassador) visited schools in Coventry and heard about the wonderful work that students are doing to foster peace and community connection, as part of Coventry Arts Week. We visited Lyng Hall school in the morning and met with Ms Hagan and four of the schools UNESCO ASPnet ambassadors. They told us all about their recent project. The students took their art and poetry to the 80th Anniversary symposium in Ypres and Dunkirk. They shared with us some of the poetry they had written together with the students on the field trip and some of their own poems too. They also shared their future plans for working with their local primary school on peace and community. We also had the privilege of joining Ms Hagans class where they were looking at Caliban’s tale. Here is one of the students work
For my birthday this year I had the honour to walk 60 miles (yes it was a big 0 birthday) over 3 days to support the essential work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation of which I am CEO. Education in its many forms is essential for all of us to thrive and make the most of life's opportunities. The Foundation works to ensure that as many children and adults as possible across the globe can access the human right of education. The plan was to walk with friends and supporters who I hoped would keep me smiling along the way and it felt like a good way to make use of the Foundation’s “Get Moving” campaign. Here's how my Get Moving Fundraiser went on the first day. The 13th June I started my walk in London by walking from Barnet to west Hampstead and visiting my sister at her shop at Tree of Life where I got served a nice iced coffee to keep me going.
