Staying “Positive”: A Story of Resilience and Inspiration

Rumi, 14 years old, is a Grade 9 student at Xavier Jesuit School. (It is not her real name.) She lives with her parents, grandparents, and a younger sister in Phnom Bak Village. Her parents make a living by selling food at Teuk Thla Market, which is about five minutes away from school by motorcycle. In mid-August, news came that all vendors of that market must take swab tests because one person from that marketplace tested positive. Out of 505 people who were tested, 126 came out as positive, and among them were the members of Rumi’s family.

Days before the mandatory lockdown of the market, Rumi shared that some of the market vendors were already manifesting symptoms such as coughs and colds. She too had been having the symptoms of the cold during that time but it never occurred to her that it might be COVID-19.

“I was nervous when we were doing the test. I was so scared. I don’t know what may happen to us if we tested positive.” Upon receiving the results that showed all the members of her family tested positive, a military car came to pick them up and brought them to Sereisophon High School which was converted to a quarantine facility to house those who were infected from Teuk Thla Market.

“The place was very crowded. There were so many people and we all didn’t know what to do. People were rushing to reserve spaces for them to sleep. On our first night, the six of us had to sleep outside the school as the spaces had all been taken. The next day, all those inside the facility tried to make space for everybody. By afternoon, we were able to have a small space for our family.”

Rumi shared that some doctors came to the quarantine facility to guide them on what to do while staying there. At that time, the elderlies received packages that include serums, some medicines, and thermometers for their respective families. She said that her father consistently monitored their family’s health and encouraged them whenever they felt sad. In addition, she shared that the government provided delicious meals three times a day and those meals made her excited every day.

“At that time, I saw how my parents were trying hard to help us all recover. So, even if I were sick, I tried my best to continue studying online. Also, my friends kept on contacting me and helped me to cope with my studies.” This served as Rumi’s inspiration to continue studying even if it had been a struggle for her to find a quiet place due to the number of people in that place.
“Do you know that I spent my birthday there also?” Rumi asked and she added that it was an unhappy moment because on that same day her grandfather got more critical and had to be transferred to a proper hospital. Both her parents had to go with her grandfather leaving her, her grandma, and her younger sister in Sereisophon.

Rumi narrated, “I know I had to remain strong for my grandma and my younger sister. But days after my parents and grandfather moved to Mongkol Borey Hospital, we received the news that my grandpa passed away. I cried a lot. At that time, I got angry. COVID took away my grandfather. And it scared me more because I don’t know what may happen next.”

However, after several days, Rumi said that all their symptoms were gone. They were tested but as required by the government, they needed to be tested negative twice before they are allowed to go home. It was extremely difficult to stay hopeful while mourning for the loss of her grandfather but she knew she simply had to — her family had to!

Finally, on 8th September, Wednesday, Rumi and all her family members were declared virus-free and were allowed to go home. Rumi felt extremely happy and thankful that the rest of them survived. However, she still missed her grandpa.

“But I can’t hate COVID. I think what is important is that we need to love ourselves and our family. We should take care of ourselves and think of how we can protect one another. For me, to be healthy is to continue feeling and giving love and happiness to others,” Rumi said tearfully. Now, Rumi is back to her cheerful self and participating well in her online classes and getting ready for the second-semester exams. She is also very determined to pass the National Exams considering the love and support she has been receiving from her whole family.

Whenever we think about the impacts of the pandemic on education, we often think of the significant amount of challenges it brings due to the repetitive school closures such as lack of devices for online learning, unstable internet connection, lack of coping policies for continuous education, lack of funding for additional equipment to support both students and teachers, etc.

However, the actual impact of this pandemic hit us hard when our students and teachers started contracting this disease one by one. As a realization, the school’s presence is not only to serve continuous education at this time but also to offer support and ensure the welfare of all the members of the school community.

This pandemic will continue to send shockwaves to all of us but the XJS is determined to withstand this adversity together.