Realia Story: We Survived 2020

On the 2nd of March 2020, Indonesia announced its first COVID-19 case. The infectious disease was initially discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. With the high mobility of people, the global spread is inevitable. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020 and eventually a pandemic on 11 March 2020.

The pandemic has turned the year of 2020 upside down. Many are losing their jobs as outdoor activity is restricted and everyone is forced to stay at home. On the one hand, staying home is essential to curb the spread of the virus. But on the other hand, it made it even harder for the daily worker to put food on the table. Not to mention the stress it has caused to people as the case keeps increasing and taking away the lives of their loved ones.

The year 2020 marked a virtual year as everything moved online. It is not an easy shift for everyone, yet, we have no other choice to fight the pandemic. People are working, studying, and trying their best to continue their life from home. As a result, classes in schools and universities started to be empty. International students, especially those who were studying in Indonesia, are repatriated to their home countries. Such a situation had impacted Realia a lot.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Realia’s students thought the situation would be temporary. The participants of the class are leaving one by one. Most of them chose to return to their home countries. Therefore, for some months, Realia only has a very limited number of students.

Nevertheless, such a situation was not the first hardship that Realia must deal with. Inspired by the unofficial mantra of the Marine Corps, our principle is to “Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome”. Such a principle always helps us to be resilient and eventually recorded 34 years of experience.

In dealing with the pandemic, we chose to be resilient. We moved the class online and enhanced our service virtually. It turns out that is one of the best decisions we made. As the pandemic got worse and prolonged, having online classes keeps everyone safe. A blessing in disguise, online courses not only bring back our students but also attract a broader range of students that come from every corner of the world. The latter has motivated us to go beyond improving our online presence and services.

As mentioned above, Realia has long-term experience as an educational institution. We choose to be resilient in facing any challenges. We have faced external challenges such as the 1989 Economic Crisis, 2002-2003 Terrorism (Bali and Kuningan Bombing), bilateral relation issues, to the 2020 pandemic. The latest challenge has not only forced us to adapt to the situation. More than that, it has transformed our business. Eventually, we are now proud to say that our students are not only those in Indonesia but also those coming from everywhere around the globe.