Voila Learning is a service that provides at-home tutoring in French, English and math.
The organization uses an online video communication device similar to Skype to connect teachers to Canadian students living in areas too remote for home tutoring.
It wasn’t long before co-founder Hosni Zaouali thought about using the same system to help students in Somalia.
“The reason why I went there is because the UN came out with an article two years ago which said, ‘Somalia is hell on Earth for kids from zero to 12 years old,’” said Zaouali. “So it was a little bit like a statement for us.”
Now, The Virtual School in Somalia Project is connecting teachers, parents and high school students in Canada to students in Somalia.
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The project’s free online service provides not only educational support but opens the door to an exchange of global realities.
“So despite the fact that English is getting better, math is getting better, we also have an exchange of culture,” said Zaouali.
Volunteers can dedicate one to two hours a week to work on any of these subjects.
High school students can also use their virtual school volunteer hours toward community service credits.
Zaouali says although this is nice, the experience of teaching these students is deeply rewarding.
“Rather than donating money and not seeing where your money goes, with this system of online tutoring people can see the outcome of their help, live. They can see the student getting better week after week. “
Kyra Barker discovered the project while fulfilling a mandatory internship credit for her concurrent education program at The University of Toronto.
She says the project provides the glimpse of a promising future that students in Somalia need.
“I am going to be a teacher in a Westernized school for the rest of my life, so helping teach students that I wouldn’t normally teach is sort of what drew me to this,” said Barker.
“And what’s an hour of my life? Instead of sitting in front of the TV, I can sit in front of a computer and truly help somebody else.”
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