Daiver wants to win the education match
Amid passes of the ball during practice, the closeness and support from the school were key for him to feel cared for, valued, and to rediscover the desire to keep learning
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Daiver Benítez, 8 years old, is a third-grade student at the Presbyter Manuel Gamarra Basic School in the city of Itá, located 34 km away from Asunción (capital of Paraguay). His favorite hobbies are playing soccer and fishing for small fishes in a pond behind his house.
Manuel Romero, the school's principal, met Daiver at a soccer field close to his home, where he plays with friends every day. When he talked to him, he noticed that the little boy was not motivated to attend school, having been absent for a while from classes. As he further inquired about his school life, the principal gradually realized that Daiver needed to resume school attendance as soon as possible, and likewise he needed specific pedagogical support, to advance with his studies and prevent him from dropping out of school.
The turning-point for having Daiver back in school was engaging him and restoring his motivation through regular soccer practice. The strategy for his retention in school included combining soccer practice with class activities, made possible because of the commitment and tailored support offered by teachers leading the Learning Recovery Spaces (ERA, acronym in Spanish). Daiver felt cared for, valued and found again the means to continue learning.
“A child who learns is a happy child”, according to principal Romero. The Let’s go to school! project, led by the Ministry of Education, in partnership with UNICEF and Education Above All Foundation, sought to engage the entire teaching staff and the local community around the commitment to bring Daiver back to school. So that Daiver would no longer miss classes and would keep motivation during his learning process. The articulation promoted across different social actors and the guidance provided by the project´s technical team in the field allowed the family-school-community bonds to be strengthened.
Thus, Daiver had the opportunity to join the Spanish and Math classes as part of the Learning Recovery Spaces (ERA) strategy, an innovative pedagogical intervention to support students´ learning and prevent school drop-out.
“Evidently, Daiver improved his academic performance because of his participation in these classes and the affection of his teacher, he learned to add, subtract, read, write and express himself better. I invite other teachers to join the project, because, although it is not easy at first, in the end it is gratifying to see the children's progress,” said the principal.
Rossana Mendoza, social facilitator of the Let's go to school! project, emphasized that teacher Mercedes Baez finds the most creative ways for Daiver to continue learning daily. She also assured that “When he arrives at school, he asks when his ERA class starts, he likes the dynamics and is always eager to learn while playing with his classmates. Through the ERA strategy and all the support given by the school personnel, he felt himself encouraged and cared for,” she said.
About the Let's go to school! project
The Let’s go to school! project is an initiative led by the Ministry of Education of Paraguay, in partnership with UNICEF and Education Above All Foundation. As implementing partners, Fundación Alda and Global Infancia undertake a series of activities that promote the identification, enrollment, retention and learning of children and adolescents to whom the right to education has been deprived.
Thanks to the project, between February 2023 and December 2024, over 23,000 children in Paraguay have been granted the right to access school and learn.
