VOA慢速英语--印尼慈善组织收集二手手机,帮助贫困学生上网课

Ghina Ghaliya of Indonesia says a stranger's visit to her house led to a campaign to help students affected¹ by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ghaliya remembers when a garbage collector came to her house in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. The man asked if she had an old mobile phone his children could use to get on the internet.

Even ugly phones are okay

"He said it does not matter if it is the ugly one, as long as his children can use it for learning from home," she said. "I thought there must be many people who need second-hand² mobile phones out there."

Ghaliya works for a national newspaper. Shortly after the pandemic hit Jakarta, she and 11 other journalists organized a group to provide food and money to needy³ people.

They started hearing from parents who wanted their children to study online but lacked a way to use the internet. Ghaliya thought of her meeting with the garbage collector when she and her group decided⁴ to provide mobile phones to poor students.

Many of these children were not able to do face-to-face learning when the new school year started in July. When the journalists announced their campaign through social media, the reaction was overwhelming. Many people donated second-hand phones, while others gave cash donations.

As of November, the journalists had collected more than 200 mobile phones and donations of more than $35,000. They used the money to buy more phones. They also paid for internet use for those needing it.

Currently, nearly 300 phones have been given to students in and around Jakarta as well as to distant areas like Papua, the country's most eastern province.

Happiness in a pandemic

Helping⁵ students take part in online schooling⁶ brings happiness to Ghaliya and her friends. "We really hope the mobile phones can be used as much as they can during the pandemic," she said.

Khaissyah Levi is a 16-year-old high school student in Depok, West Java. He now attends online classes in the morning. His father Deny Sayuti had been loaning his mobile phone to his son for his studies. But that meant Sayuti could only do his work as a motorcycle taxi driver for part of the day.

Sayuti wrote to Ghaliya's group in August. His family received a mobile phone a month later. Sayuti believes that his son can now do better with his online studies.

"Now I see him more comfortable, and he can directly reach out to his friends and teacher," Sayuti said.

Sharing a phone is not as good

Qayran Ruby⁷ Al Maghribi had also been using his father's mobile phone to attend three video calls a week with his teachers and get homework.

But the 11-year-old boy sometimes sent his homework late because he had to wait for his father to return from work in order to get back online. For the first time in his life, Maghribi was falling behind in his studies. He also had to take care of his sick mother. This was making him feel pressured.

But a big smile appeared on his face when he received the mobile phone sent by Ghaliya's group.

"I will use the phone to do online school every day," Maghribi said.

Words in This Story

garbage – n. wasted food and other old or unwanted material

mobile – adj. able to be moved or to be moved easily

ugly – adj. unpleasant in appearance; disagreeable

second-hand – adj. involving things that have already been used or owned

overwhelming – adj. very great in amount; huge

cash – n. money in banknotes; ready money

pandemic– n. the fast spread of an infectious disease over a very large geographical⁸ area

comfortable – adj. providing physical ease; warm or enjoyable

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

3 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

7 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

8 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。