Education is a right, a fundamental pillar for children and adolescents. But what happens when an illness or injury prevents them from attending class? To ensure that these students receive the necessary support, the Ministry of Education launched in 2010 the … Home Educational Care Program (PAED), an initiative that brings hope and learning to the homes of Rioja families who use it.
Coordinated mainly by FARO (Rioja Association of Relatives and Friends of Children with Cancer), this project offers continuity to students in Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary, Baccalaureate and other non-university education. Their mission is to provide support to those who, due to injury or illness, remain at home for at least a month. The program is taught by teachers from the same center where the student is enrolled and the teachers volunteer, but receive remuneration according to the overtime hours worked. Classes are held in person in their homes, although they can also be held virtually.
The teachers and hours assigned to each student vary depending on the course. In Early Childhood and Primary, one teacher teaches all subjects, while in ESO and Baccalaureate they can have up to three. Coordination between PAED teachers and the educational center is essential for student evaluation. For students it is really important to remain linked to the school, and this is what María Soto, psychologist at FARO, explains. “On an emotional level, it gives them stability to remain in contact with the social circle they had, with their classmates and teachers.”
«Self-love and the desire to graduate with my classmates have been my main motivations»
Miranda Moreno
Student at the San Agustín school, Calahorra
«I want him to go to class, but it can’t be. The only way we have left is this program, that is why this service is so useful.”
Natalia Jimenez
Kike’s mother, affected by spinal muscular atrophy
This program assists students with different pathologies. «At FARO we provide support to the teacher. In addition to cancer, we also serve students who have undergone surgery or who have problems related to mental health,” explains Nuria Gómez, educational coordinator of the association.
Miranda Moreno is a young woman from Calahorra, 18 years old, who has completed the second year of Baccalaureate at the San Agustín school. In October 2023, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer for which she received treatment until May 13. “At first, she gave me vertigo because I didn’t know if she was going to be able to finish the course,” explains Miranda. However, thanks to an “inhuman” effort and the support of the PAED, she has managed to finish it and also with an excellent grade at the EBAU. Now, her intention is to enroll in a degree in Medicine. “Self-love and the desire to graduate with my classmates have been my main motivations,” she boldly states.
Francisco Javier Amar teaches a virtual class to Kike from his home.
IRENE JADRAQUE
Kike’s struggle to educate himself
Another example of improvement is that of Kike, a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at eight months, a disease that damages and kills motor neurons. Due to his condition, Kike has been in the program since the first day of Kindergarten and this year he has been in sixth grade. “It is a very limiting disease, he needs a lot of physical help and it is very difficult to attend school,” says Natalia, his mother. Over time, Kike has had three teachers and for four years he has received virtual classes from Francisco Javier Amar. «I have attended three students since I joined Duquesa six years ago. It is a vocational job, well paid, but intense,” says Amar.
The joint effort has borne fruit and Kike now has fluent reading comprehension and solid knowledge in mathematics and science. Although this year, due to complications from his illness, he has only been able to attend the classroom one day, the support of his classmates reaches him through messages and calls. «I want him to go to class, but it can’t be. The only way we have left is this program, that is why this service is so useful,” concludes her mother.
Since 2011, FARO has coordinated the educational care of about 250 students. Specifically, in the 2023-2024 academic year they have assisted 22 students, although they do not represent all of the participants, since some manage support directly with their own centers.
«If Jenifer and Mateo, with the situation they have, get up every morning and continue fighting, I cannot give up»
Maria De Miguel
Teacher at La Guindalera school
«I have attended three students since I entered Duquesa. “It is a vocational job, well paid, but intense.”
Francisco Javier Amar
Teacher at Duquesa de la Victoria school
Mateo is one of the children who has been part of the program for two years. Despite his young age, four years old, he has already fought great battles. In August 2022, before starting first grade at the La Guindalera school, he was diagnosed with leukemia and since then he has received education through the PAED. Despite being undergoing cancer treatment, his learning has not stopped. In March 2024, he had the opportunity to attend school with his classmates for the first time. «At first it was difficult for him, but he adapted. In June we stopped going because he contracted several infections that forced us to stop chemotherapy,” explains Jenifer, his mother.
María De Miguel, teacher of therapeutic pedagogy in La Guindalera, has been in charge of training Mateo this course. An experience that has taught her to value life differently. “If they get up every morning and continue fighting, I can’t give up,” says María. Once the course is over, the PAED stops, but the work continues for Mateo and other children and adolescents who will attend the summer educational program organized by FARO for children with cancer. A teacher hired by the association will teach the content that they have not been able to consolidate in classes.
