VTOB: Volunteers Strength

Sonam Norbu resigned 3 weeks ago. After serving for more than 11 years as teacher, he decided to leave his job to become a full-time social worker. Originally from Wangduephodrang, Sonam was always passionate about providing social services, volunteerism and was always involved in community work. He had led the Trash-Tag challenge which involved more than 150 schools and made runner-up in the UNESCO Bangkok Plastic Initiative Award. He also founded the Annual Reading Retreat, an annual voluntary reading programme for student by teachers. As a concerned teacher, it was on 7th March last year after the closure of schools, Sonam held an online meeting with more than 1,200 teachers on Telegram.

“That meeting gave birth to VTOB, Volunteers Strength which is now an aspiring community based organisation called VTOB Foundation. As teachers, we did not want our students to lose out on their lessons, something had to be done. We discussed it and committed to offer voluntary professional support to our nation during the pandemic and beyond. The next day I was called to the Prime Minister’s Office and it was there that the initiative for the video lessons on national TV started based Motithang and Lungtenzampa school,” said Sonam.

Gradually, the programmme begun to be broadcast on radio as well to cater to students without access to television, and Self-Instructional Materials (SIM) was also developed to go hand in hand with the radio lessons. More than 400 teachers from across the country came to Thimphu and volunteered their time. As part of VTOB, the “10 Pages a Day Reading Journey” online project took off in partnership with Drukyul’s Literature Festival: Bhutan Echoes.

“We received an audience from the His Majesty The King in May and this further motivated and inspired us. Based on His Majesty’s vision on the importance of reading to foster a well-read Bhutan, the “10 Pages a Day Reading Journey” was started. We wanted to instill good reading habits in our society. We have almost 4,700 members registered online, and we do book reviews, let us read dzongkha activities, reading challenges and book talks as incentives to enhance the culture of reading. Looking at the pandemic in a technology driven world and the amount of time we spend at home and on our phones, reading every day is a habit most ought to pick up,” said Sonam.

Challenges of a digital divide and the technology readiness of both students and the teachers persists as we move into another uncertain year of COVID. The significance of the impact of COVID-19 on the education system may only be truly felt in the long run. Although the shift to online and remote studying has enhanced self-learning, keeping pace with technology can be a challenge especially if we wish to turn the digital divide into a dividend.

“There were obstacles, but it is all about keeping pace and not losing momentum. The sudden change to online and remote learning was overwhelming for many students and teachers, but we had to make do with what was possible, otherwise the education system would fall behind and we would lose track,” said Sonam.

The “10 Pages a Day Reading Journey” has also opened eleven free libraries around the country, with a mobile library in Tashigang and a mini library in a community shop in Rukubji. The initiative helps reach books to those with limited access to libraries.

“We receive donations of books too and have received more than 5,000 books from the Bhutan Street Library. During lockdowns, we held EduTALK sessions where individuals can talk about education challenges, issues and how we can make collective decisions and take responsibility,” said Sonam.

“I think COVID fast tracked my decision to resign. I am now working to convert VTOB as a CSO aimed at complementing, supplementing, and offering education enhancement and supporting mainstream education. COVID allowed me to look beyond the present and pursue my passion. It is a professional learning community that will remain long after the pandemic ends. As a life-long learner and a firm believer of transformative, resilient, innovative and skill-based education, I want to inculcate the value of life-long learning and support education reform and SDG 4 through VTOB,” said Sonam.

“It is a risky path, but a path I am willing to persevere with and go the distance” added Sonam.