Georgia: Accessing online classes from the hills

Aleksandre is 11 years old and the only school student in the Georgian village of Khevischala. When the COVID-19 lockdown came, schools closed and lessons were transferred online. This presented him with a challenge since he had no Internet reception from home. He found a hill that did, however, and now sits in a hut to do his schoolwork.

He was not alone. School closures meant the end of classes for many children in Georgia.  A lack of technical or financial resources prevented them from taking part in online sessions. Aleksandre’s story has changed that. Mtisambebi.ge, a DW Akademie partner, published an article about Aleksandre’s struggles and generated a wave of sympathy. Similar reports followed and the government in turn has reacted by promoting affordable Internet access for students and teachers. Through this, hundreds of children in Georgia can now access the Internet.

Although the new school year got underway in Georgia in early October, COVID-19 and poor health care facilities in the country mean that students continue to rely on online classes.

Mtisambebi.ge provides exclusive reporting from the mountain regions of Georgia and belongs to an association of nine local media editorial offices. NIC (Network of Information Centers) is also a project partner of DW Akademie and organizes training courses in audience development and multimedia storytelling for editorial staff.