The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) on Monday said, they have been carrying a continuing assistance to Mt. Kanlaon-affected evacuees where their Field Office personnel are providing necessary support to children-evacuees to ensure the continuity of their education amid the crisis.

“Our field office camp coordinators, despite their hectic daily schedule, find time to help our learners with their studies. In fact, some of our personnel even go the extra mile to entertain questions from learners who are having a difficult time understanding their learning materials on their own,” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said.

Following the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano last 9 December and the on-going mandatory evacuation in nearby areas, schools have resorted to blended learning or a combination of face-to-face classes and modular learning.

To date, more than 1,600 school-aged children or those 6-12 years old are currently staying in 23 evacuation areas around Kanlaon Volcano.

Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said that in an evacuation center in Linothangan Elementary School in Canlaon City, personnel of the agency’s Field Office (FO) 7-Central Visayas are assisting children as they navigate through blended-learning activities.

Prince Rex Jorolan, a 7th grader taking shelter at an evacuation center at the Linothangan Elementary School, is among the learners who is coping with the blended learning approach away from home.

“I have to finish my science module because I have class at St. Joseph College in the afternoon,” Rex said in his native language.

While Rex admits that he is having a difficult time with the current set-up, he is grateful for the support he is getting from camp personnel like James Rocel Borromeo, a Canlaon City link staff under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.