1. Most preschool teachers working with the Ahlan Simsim project in Lebanon continue to draw at least partial pay. They are not, however, unscathed by the current crises.
In many ways the teachers and teacher aides are faring better than others: 83% of teachers and 86% of teacher aides report still being paid either in part or full by IRC while classes were closed; 94% of teachers and 80% of teacher aides report their general health to be good; and 86% of teachers and 60% of teacher aides rate their general sense of satisfaction as good.
This said, the median household income loss reported by both teachers and aides is 50% pre-pandemic income (with mean losses of 45% and 47% respectively), with many reporting that others in their household had lost jobs. A quarter of respondents (n=18), equally split between teachers and aides, reported either that their answers around their own health and satisfaction or their answers related to quality of sleep and symptoms of depression differed for the worse from what they would have been prior to the pandemic. These respondents highlight fear surrounding the virus, reduced work/income, increased costs, resource shortages, decreased stability, and the psychological toll of staying at home in indicating what had changed. The majority of these respondents as well as 2 additional teachers and 5 additional teacher aides also indicate declining food security due to high prices, high prices plus decreased income/job opportunity, or high cost of living more generally.
Responses include: “I was able to buy better food [before]... now everything is expensive”; “[our] family decreased food consumption due to the high prices and living difficulty”; “no jobs nor sufficient incomes”; “after corona, the prices increased a lot and my salary decreased”; and “we had more food before corona”.
A handful of teachers and aides also report decreased social support; missing work, teaching, and seeing other people; and it being difficult to effectively do their jobs in the face of the pandemic.
2. Caregivers report the economic situation going from bad to worse.
In speaking to caregivers, 55% (n=157) report a change in income since the coronavirus outbreak with the vast majority of those indicating some sort of complete job loss in their answers. Many of the same qualitative answers show up again and again here: “husband stopped working”; “there are no jobs”; “no work”; “stopped completely”; “incomes stopped”. Some caregivers further point out the situation was not great even before COVID: “there was little work before corona and after corona my husband lost his work completely”; “before corona the situation was very bad, but [my] husband could still find work from time to time during the day.”
A large number of caregivers also, or instead, highlight price inflation in discussing how their household income changed: “high cost of living”; “everything became expensive”; “I was left with no food for a certain period and work stopped, and the prices are high”; “deterioration of the Lebanese currency”; “husband stopped working, the markets closed, and high cost of living.” Finally, many report decreased income or work and others mention incurring debt as the situation has progressed: “private lessons stopped”; “decreased a lot”; “they decreased my son’s salary”; “have LBP 1000000 debt”; “I borrow money to buy what I need, husband stopped working.”
Fewer caregivers endorse changes that we might expect to move hand in hand with lost household income such as decreased living conditions, socioeconomic status, and food security. Qualitative answers suggest this may be due to living conditions having already been bad before the pandemic. Just over a tenth say living conditions have changed since the pandemic and 21% say their financial status (e.g., whether they consider themselves middle income, managing to get by with difficulty, or poor) and/or food security have changed since the pandemic. Among comments pertaining to these changes, many caregivers point out that the situation was already difficult: “The situation is always bad, but before corona, we were at least able to buy food”; “The situation was bad even before Corona”; “No one was working before Corona”; “There was no work even before Corona”; “The situation is going from bad to worse”; and, “It was difficult and now it’s more difficult.” Given a low enough baseline, categories such as if you are unable to buy enough food or what broader income bracket you would put yourself in may not have changed for many respondents even as incomes further decreased.
Supporting this, for financial status we ask them to answer based on pre-COVID-19 income bracket before asking if the pandemic changes their answers. Almost half (45%) of caregivers report that they would have identified as poor and 41% as ‘manage to get by with some difficulty’ prior to the current crises. For food security we do not ask them about their pre-COVID-19 security, but the low levels of security and low endorsement of it changing suggest that regular access to quality food was likely already an issue prior to the recent increase in job loss and decreases in spending power. Nearly three quarters say they often (36%) or sometimes (37%) do not have enough to eat in their household. Only 1% say they have enough of the kinds of food they ideally want to be eating, suggesting that even those with enough food are making compromises in terms of nutrition in order to adequately feed everyone. These numbers are high even in the context of a country already struggling with food security.
3. Many caregivers report decreases in personal wellbeing.
A fifth of the caregivers also report that their general health and satisfaction has decreased and 17% report the last month as differing in terms of sleep, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. Reported reasons largely revolve around: i) decreased means (e.g., “before we were able to afford buying food, now we can no longer afford anything at all”; “because of the situation and the lack of money; “The last couple of months were very hard when it comes to expenses and the kids’ needs”); and, ii) increased anxiety, worry, and fear (e.g., “increased fear and horror”; “overthinking because of the responsibility of kids”; “psychological fatigue”; “I am very scared and my psychological date is bad.”). Some caregivers also mention changes in daily routines (e.g., “schools are closed”; “there is more pressure because husband is now at home”). One respondent reports a close family member’s death.
We also asked caregivers if their feelings or practices around parenting have changed since the pandemic. Twenty (7%) say their feelings have changed, with all indicating a change for the worse. Three caregivers further specify that they fear they can no longer adequately care for their children. Others respond more generally, referencing fear, pressure, and “the situation”.
Twenty-three caregivers (8%) report decreased social support in relation to having others they can go to for assistance. “No one helps anymore.” Eight (3%) report decreased trust since the pandemic began: “[I] went through some difficulties and sought the help of people close to [me] but no one helped”; “Whenever I go to someone, they frown in my face.”