The Blue Door Education (BDE), a voluntary organization chaired by Justine Lubnow and composed of about forty passionate volunteers from all over the world, continued its commitment in 2024 to offer free ‘weekly literacy, language, and life skills classes to refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants.’
During the last quarter of 2024, from October to December, the BDE team participated in activities such as the new student week at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). With the aim of promoting its work and raising awareness of its goals and impacts in the Maltese community.
More specifically, BDE offered a total of 56 hours of classes each week to its students, who wished to gain autonomy in understanding English. This was divided into eleven classes twice a week, four in-person classes once a week, and two online classes once a week. Volunteer teachers, holding the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) diploma or the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), attended to the students' needs and adapted the classes according to their levels (from A1 to B1). These highly interactive classes can accommodate between 10 and 12 people. BDE also offers classes reserved for migrant women, taught by female teachers. Women with children can leave them for free at the childcare services during the classes.
BDE students can also take information technology (IT) skills. They learn to use basic and useful everyday computer tools, such as Google Drives and Gmail. Although the world is increasingly digital, some people do not have access to technology. Thus, the NGO allows its students to access and ‘make the most of technology they have available.’
To raise awareness among a larger number of learners, BDE recently created a YouTube channel. Twenty-six 'literacy and language tutorial' videos are posted online to help teenagers and adults understand the formation of an English alphabet letter. To enable students to learn in the best conditions and at their own pace, BDE collaborated with Muscat-Drago, a film production company.
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