Hundreds of students in Nghe An face the risk of hunger due to isolated landslides

Only a bowl of white rice, along with a few salty and bitter dried fish, is the daily meal of the students of Nam Tip Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, a school located deep in the flood center of storms No. 3 and No. 4.

According to the school's Board of Directors, due to being isolated for more than a month, local food has run out, supplies are very difficult, and teachers and students in the school are at risk of starvation.

Nam Tip Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities has over 200 students and 20 teachers and staff living in the school dormitory. Photo: Lu Phu

Teacher Ngan Van Viet, the teacher in charge of boarding at Nam Tip Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, shared: Already facing difficulties, now the students at the school are facing even more deprivation. Previously, the daily diet consisted of: breakfast of 1 pack of instant noodles and 1 egg, lunch and dinner of rice, soup, vegetables, meat (fish), but for nearly a month now, breakfast has been rice and dried fish; lunch and dinner, each student only has 1 bowl of rice with dried fish and vegetables contributed by the people.

The road to the school was blocked by mud, the school was completely isolated, to get rice to eat, the teachers had to take turns walking a long distance to carry it. The weak students could not go to get food because the road was very dangerous...

Some parents help the school transport rice to students. Photo: Lu Phu

Nam Tip Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities has over 320 students, who are children of ethnic minorities such as Mong, Thai and Kho Mu from the two border communes of Muong Tip and Muong Ai, participating in the study, including over 200 students and 20 teachers and staff living in the school dormitory. Although the school's facilities and grounds are still damaged by floods, classrooms and schoolyards are still muddy, meals are not really enough, and books and pens for the new school year are not complete, the school still maintains good teaching and learning.

Long Ba Mau, an 8B student at Nam Tip Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, shared: My house is far from school, the road is very difficult, I cannot go home, I have to stay at school on Saturdays and Sundays. Here, teachers organize meals for us, but recently we heard that there is a risk of rice shortage so we have to save on every meal.

Teacher and students go fishing in the stream to add to the meal. Photo: Lu Phu

The inter-commune road from Canh village, Ta Ca commune to the center of Muong Ai commune has a total length of 37km, which is the only road that helps people, cadres and teachers of schools in Muong Tip and Muong Ai communes to circulate and transport goods, food, and school supplies to serve daily needs, and teaching and learning. However, for more than a month now, the road is still full of mud and soil, with landslides stretching for kilometers blocking the path, making the transportation of rice as well as other goods and necessities to provide relief to people and students more difficult than ever.

Teacher Hoa Van Nganh - Vice Principal of Nam Tip Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities shared: Not only are there difficulties with food, but medicine is also lacking. Due to the weather and the environment after the flood, some children have stomachaches and eye pain without medicine, and the school does not know what to do. Currently, the number of boarding students has not reached 100%, some children in difficult villages cannot go to school...

Despite countless difficulties, teachers and students at Nam Tip School still strive to go to school to spread knowledge. Photo: Lu Phu

Not only is there a risk of hunger, the school also faces many difficulties when the flood washed away the mini water generator system. Thus, the lighting for daily activities, teaching, learning and the clean water source are also seriously affected. Every night, hundreds of students have to fumble in the dark because there is no electricity.