Dear good friends from Gatebarna I Estland
Thank you so much for your support in the amount of 111 000 NOK, that
reached us in June 2021. It has been a big help! Some words what has
happened in Peeteli since April.
Schools gave children a lot to learn with distance learning and because of
that, every one of our educators including our civil servant and two German
volunteers became like teachers.

Because we are working 24/7, the centre’s staff was also on the vaccination
queue and by the beginning of April 4 of our team members had already gotten the
vaccine. Most of the rest of the team was on the waiting list then. On 11th
April five Peeteli team members got a positive corona test. Next day with
the help of the Health Board, we organized Covid testing for everyone.
Results that came next day said that three children who lived in Peeteli
were also positive. After that, we decided to temporarily close Peeteli for
10 days from 15-25 of April. Luckily, it was a school holiday period, so
children’s studying was not affected. Children went home and one orphan
child was placed temporarily at a children’s shelter by child protection. In
the shelter he had a separate room for isolation with no contact to other
children. On 26th April after repeat testing children came back to Peeteli.
We are grateful that everyone who had a positive test is well now and did
not become seriously ill. At the end of April we also had a bicycle trip to
the nature that children very enjoyed.

The corona situation improved a bit from 03.05.21 and children in grades 1-4
got to go to school again. And all other kids went back to school from 17th
May 2021. Also from beginning of May onward we started to help more and more
our day care children in the day centre who were in very bad way with their
school things. Officially we did not yet have the allowance to open our day
centre for all our 30 children in the day centre’s list at the same time.
But we did not send away a child in need of help and helped them
individually. About 9 children were living continuously in Peeteli, and some
added children for shorter period until the end of school year.

At the beginning and at the end of May, on weekends, we had two short camps
in Saaremaa. Both were small work camps to clean the grounds, do some more
preparation works to get Saaremaa ready for summer camp season and for
everybody to enjoy the nature, nice weather and relax away from city’s Covid
situation. At the beginning of June we had big ‘Spring cleaning outside’
around Peeteli were children helped to make everything nice and tidy. On 8th
and 9th June our youth worker had a nature hike with our older children with
a night spent in the nature. On 14th of June we had our yearly canoe trip,
but this year for one day. It was great and everybody totally enjoyed it!
Even when we had all the activities then actually May and June were very
busy months for school, learning and homework, so that children would be
able to finish their school year. In May and June we had many of our day
centre’ children, who came for help and we were very happy to help them.
This year our Summer camp season started from the beginning of July and if
all goes well we will have 5 camp shifts.

Take care and best wishes,
Kaidi Lees
Project secretary
Peeteli kiriku sotsiaalkeskus/
Bethel’s Centre of Pastoral Care

 

 

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