Wish to cross the stream

(Baonghean) - For many years, students in Quang village, Chau Phong commune, Quy Chau had to wade across Nam Cam stream to go to school. Worried, many parents left their farming jobs to carry their children to school. But during the rainy season when the floodwaters rose, the children in the village had to stay home from school.

Students in Quang village (Chau Phong commune - Quy Chau) have to wade across streams to get to school.

Around 5pm, a group of students gathered to wait for each other to cross the Nam Cam stream to go home. Holding hands and wading into the water, the children happily laughed and joked: “It’s like this every day, I’m used to it”, followed by some parents to keep an eye on them. For the younger children, their parents had to carry them across the stream. Mrs. Lu Thi Xuan said: “Every day I have to take my children to school, take them to class in the morning, pick them up in the afternoon, I can’t do anything. And I don’t feel secure letting them go to school by themselves”.

Quang village has 51 households with 423 people, separated from the commune center by Nam Cam stream. Every day, more than 70 students of the village have to wade across the stream to go to Chau Phong II kindergarten, primary school and secondary school in Tam village. During the rainy season, going to school for students of Quang village is extremely dangerous. "There are times when flood water floods the rice fields on high ground, washing away the water wheels, our Quang village is isolated from the outside. Even the village is divided into 3 separate areas by water. On days like that, students have to stay home from school or ask to stay at people's houses around the school to go to school", said Mr. Lu Van Tuong, Head of Quang village.

During heavy rains and floods, the village police were sent to guard both sides of the stream, erecting barriers, not allowing anyone to pass, waiting for the water to recede. In the village, people had to buy food and provisions to store, because they could be isolated for several days. The village chief mobilized young people to go into the forest to cut down trees to prepare for making rafts to travel, in case the water rose high enough to flood their houses. Livestock such as buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens and household items were also moved to the highest place in the village, in case they were swept away by floodwaters. Having a bridge across the stream was a long-standing wish of the people of Quang village, not only to help students get to school safely, but also to improve the difficult traffic situation, making the daily life, production and trading of the people here more convenient.

Mr. Le Ha Ly, Chairman of Chau Phong Commune People's Committee, said: "Quang village is separated from the commune center by Nam Cam stream. For many years, students have had to wade through the stream to get to school. People's lives have also encountered many difficulties and obstacles. We have also proposed to superiors the wishes and desires of Quang village people about building a bridge across the stream. According to Project 186 for people's suspension bridges to ensure traffic safety in ethnic minority areas, the bridge over Nam Cam stream has been approved by the Ministry of Transport. The measurement and inspection work was carried out at the end of 2014. It is expected that this year the suspension bridge will start construction."

Lake Lai