VOA慢速英语2021--乌干达儿童在新冠疫情期间长期停学失去希望

Ugandan Children Lose Hope in Long School Closure During Pandemic

Schools in Uganda have been fully¹ or partly closed for more than 77 weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. The United Nations cultural agency says that is the longest break anywhere in the world.

Many countries around the world moved their school lessons to the internet. But most schools in the East African country were unable to offer virtual² schooling³.

Without school, some Ugandan students got married. Some are dealing⁴ with unwanted pregnancies⁵. Others have found jobs.

Efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 have upset the lives of children around the world. It has caused difficulties for parents. It has also removed many safeguards⁶.

The aid group Save the Children said the pandemic has led to the "biggest global education emergency of our time." The group identified 48 countries, including Uganda, whose school systems are at extreme or high risk of collapse⁷. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa. This part of the world has long struggled with high dropout⁸ rates among students and a shortage⁹ of well-trained teachers.

Around the world

Some other countries that saw long closures also struggled to teach children. Mexico has low internet connectivity in many places. It chose to use educational programming by television. The pandemic has been disastrous¹⁰ for children in Mexico. It has led to millions leaving school as well as increases in child murder, teen pregnancies, and violence in homes.

In Iraq, virtual learning is "limited and unequal," the World Bank has reported.

Some wealthier countries did better. Public schools in Kuwait did not have what they needed to go virtual when the pandemic first struck. All schooling was suspended for seven months. But the oil-rich Gulf¹¹ Arab state spent $212 million to create virtual school programming. The costly¹² effort has been considered a success.

Ugandan lockdowns

Uganda first closed it schools in March of 2020, shortly after the first coronavirus case was confirmed on the African continent.

Some classes were reopened to students almost one year later, in February. But a total closure happened again in June as the country faced its first major increase of coronavirus cases.

Today, Uganda is the only country in Africa where schools remain closed.

President Yoweri Museveni announced last week that schools would reopen in January. His announcement comes as the country has seen a decrease in virus cases in recent months.

Experts at Johns Hopkins University say the country is now recording¹³ an average of 70 new infections each day. So far, Uganda has fully vaccinated¹⁴ about 700,000 of its 44 million people.

First lady Janet Museveni is the country's education minster. She has rejected criticism that the country is not doing enough to teach its children. In a speech in October, she asked "why our children cannot be safe at home. What happened to the family?"

Some Ugandans say the problem is that the government has not found a successful way to keep up learning during lockdown periods. One suggested solution was to broadcast lessons through free radio sets. But that plan did not happen. In rural areas, many children do not have learning materials of any kind.

Lost hope

In the Ugandan town of Busia, it was common to see children selling goods in the streets even before the pandemic hit. Things have only gotten worse.

The Associated Press recently spoke¹⁵ with some children there. Many of them expressed hopelessness during the long lockdown.

Mathias Okwako is one of those children. He searches for gold with other children to pass the time. He wears his school clothing while searching for the valuable metal because he has nothing else to wear. He regrets that he must work; the tiring days leave him little energy to study on his own.

"No time (for) reading books," he said. "If you try to open a book, you just go asleep, and sleep up to tomorrow."

Children work alongside¹⁶ adults at the unofficial gold mine. Some of the adults are their teachers. Observers say the risks and feelings of doing dangerous work have led to fights. Some children have broken bones while digging. A usual day can bring in just over $2, enough for a child to buy a used pair of shoes.

At Okwako's Mawero school, teacher Emmy Odillo said he expects a small number of the 400 students to return next year.

Bosco Masaba is the director of studies at Busia Central Primary school. He said he normally sees some students in the streets selling fruit or eggs. He heard that some girls become house workers for families across the border in Kenya.

Masaba said, "Some, they have lost hope completely."

Words in This Story

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

global – adj. involving the entire world

qualified¹⁷ – adj. having the necessary skill, experience, or knowledge to do a particular job or activity

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

3 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

6 safeguards   

防护措施，安全设施( safeguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We will introduce legal safeguards against fraud. 我们将推行防止欺诈的法律条款。
• There is a price to be paid for maintaining these safeguards. 维持这些防范措施是要付出代价的。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

8 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

9 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

10 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

13 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

14 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

17 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。