Where there are 'flocks of people' there are teachers...

Flood relief in Nam Tip

“We can’t go there, the road is bad and dangerous, many sections are almost washed away into the river,” many people tried to stop us when we wanted to go to Muong Tip and Muong Ai communes (Ky Son district) in early August.

At that time, both border communes along the Nam Tip River were suffering heavy damage after storm No. 3. But when we saw some villagers riding motorbikes from the village to town, and said "teachers have already arrived", we were determined to cross the mountain. After nearly 3 hours, at dusk, we arrived at Muong Ai Primary School, just as another torrential rain poured down from the jungle.

Looking over to the teachers' housing complex, the scene was heartbreakingly dilapidated. The four rooms had only one crumbling outer wall left, the rest behind had been completely demolished, looking straight out to the rushing Nam Tip River.

This is the official residence of 15 teachers and one room is arranged as an office of Muong Ai Primary School. The whole school has 37 teachers, besides a few local people, most of them are teachers from the lowlands who come to teach. Despite hardship and deprivation, for decades, they are still here, because there are still students, because the children need to go to school. In fact, after staying for so long, the teachers have become accustomed to it, settling down in the mountains, waiting to return when they retire... But now, that cramped and minimally comfortable dormitory has been swept away by the flood.

At the time of the flash flood, the teachers were on summer break. Some local teachers nearby tried to run over, but only managed to get some clothes out, and did not dare to save anything else because the floodwaters were so fierce. In this highland area, when it rains, the floods come in torrents. But when it is sunny, the sun is bright and harsh. During the day, we saw more clearly the terrible devastation of the natural disaster. There was nothing left but a pile of broken, crooked bricks. Only a tripod, erected by someone, stood alone, forlorn...

When the leave was due, they returned to school. Although they had been warned in advance, no one expected the devastation of the flood to be so terrible. The teachers who lost their rooms were arranged to share a room with other teachers in a nearby dormitory, which was fortunately still intact. Seven other teachers had to temporarily stay at separate schools. One teacher had to rent a house to live in. Everyone held back their tears and tried to find a way to settle down, no one left the school.

Mr. Le Quynh Luu - Principal of the school said: All teachers were present at the school, on August 1st, even though the weather was still rainy and the roads were dangerous. The new school year will be very difficult. However, the school has gradually overcome the situation and cleaned up relatively neatly. The official house was washed away, but fortunately the students' classrooms were not greatly affected. Teachers can manage as they please...

As for Muong Tip Primary and Kindergarten, floodwaters have washed away classrooms and toilets at Na My village. This new school year, the school must arrange to send students from this area to study at the main school or other suitable nearby locations...

Leaving Muong Tip and Muong Ai, the teachers urged us to leave early, lest we get stuck if it rains. The road after the flood was full of big cracks, and in some sections, half of it had collapsed into the Nam Tip River. We said to each other: “If it rains again, the whole road might be washed away into the river.”

Unexpectedly, just over a week later, the storm returned. Flood upon flood. And this time, the road from Muong Xen to Muong Ai, Muong Tip was completely cut off by the record high river water.

What will happen to the teachers there? Will the students make it back to school in time?

Empty-handed after the flood!

Not only Muong Tip and Muong Ai, after two consecutive floods, many schools in Ky Son district were damaged, the gathering of students to prepare for the new school year had to be postponed. In Muong Xen town, primary schools, kindergartens, and the headquarters of the Department of Education and Training were flooded with more than 1 meter of water due to heavy rain and floods, completely submerging houses, classrooms, and other structures. In the border commune of My Ly, My Ly 1 and 2 Kindergarten, and the Ethnic Minority Boarding Secondary School were deeply flooded, more than 20 teachers' official houses were swept away or collapsed by floodwaters. The estimated damage to the education sector of this mountainous district alone is 8 billion VND.

In Tuong Duong district, according to Mr. Kha Van Lap - Deputy Head of the district's Department of Education and Training, many schools such as Phieng Luong, Na Lat, Huoi Co (Nhon Mai commune), Na Ngan, Na Ko (Nga My commune), Coc village, Tat village (Yen Thang commune) were flooded. Some schools such as Lung village school (Tam Thai commune Kindergarten), Khe Ngau (Thach Giam Kindergarten), Thoi Voi village (Nhon Mai Kindergarten) were also damaged or had their roofs blown off.

In particular, Con Cuong Ethnic Minority Secondary School had 70% of its facilities damaged by the flood, with an estimated loss of more than 3 billion VND. Of which, all books in the library, teaching equipment, computers, desks and chairs, and students' daily necessities were swept away or mostly damaged by the flood.

In the 2018-2019 school year, the school has 300 students, including 75 grade 6 students. As a boarding school, although newly established, the school's facilities are very difficult and lacking, and students still have to study in temporary classrooms. However, before the new school year, the school was ready and welcomed students from August 3 to stabilize their accommodation and activities. "The flood came too quickly, and the school is located near the Lam River, so the water rose high, in some places it was more than 3m high, making it difficult for teachers and students to react. The whole school only had 3 classrooms on the 2nd floor above the water. We moved the school's transcripts, student records and important books to higher places to avoid flooding. Then, we had to stop to avoid danger. Fortunately, there were no casualties," said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nhung - Principal of the school.

Efforts to welcome the new school year

Currently, Con Cuong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities is letting students stay home because the school's facilities are not yet adequate. On the other hand, the students of the school are all ethnic minorities, living far away, and traveling after floods is very dangerous.

In addition, teachers and local forces were very urgent and quick to carry out flood relief work. After only 4 days, the classrooms and the student dormitory were cleaned up, all mud and dirt were removed. The remaining work was to clear the sewers and repair the road leading to the school. At the same time, clean up and prevent disease.

“Regarding textbooks for teachers and students, the school registered with the Center for School Equipment and Books, but fortunately they were not brought back before the storm, so they are still intact and will be fully transferred soon. Currently, some individuals and charitable organizations have sponsored pens, notebooks, and some clothes for students along with some desks and chairs. The school has repaired the old desks and chairs for temporary use, and will gradually replace them with new ones in the coming time when funding is available. In addition, a unit has also donated 300 blankets, mosquito nets, pillows, etc. to boarding students. Thus, the essential conditions for teaching and learning have been basically met. It is expected that students will gather on the afternoon of August 26 and on August 27, official teaching will begin as planned by the Department of Education and Training,” said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nhung.

Chieu Luu Kindergarten (Ky Son district), Luu Thang village, due to the impact of floods and landslides, collapsed a semi-permanent classroom and a boarding kitchen. “The scene at that time was terrible, luckily it was summer, no children were there. When the rain stopped, although it was not yet time to return the leave, the teachers of the school were present. But with limited human strength, they could only drag out tables, chairs, and some toys, then bring them down to the stream to clean them. The rest was damaged,” said Ms. Doan Thi Huong - Vice Principal of the school.

To help teachers and students, in early August, the Chieu Luu commune government mobilized cadres, organizations, youth unions and local people to hire excavators to clear the mud and soil that had "surrounded" Luu Thang school. The two wooden classrooms and kitchen had to be dismantled and could not be repaired because they had completely collapsed.

Luu Thang School has 39 students this school year, rebuilding the classroom will take time, and according to the school's proposal: The locality needs to calculate the location to build a new classroom to ensure the safety of teachers and students. Because the old location is very susceptible to landslides every time it rains. Currently, the immediate solution is to clean the classroom with a solid house to welcome the children. The children who lost their classroom will be transferred to study at a nearby community cultural house.

However, the kitchen has collapsed, making it difficult to organize boarding for the children. Ms. Vi Thi Hue - a teacher at Luu Thang village shared: "The kitchen is gone, our vegetable garden is also buried under rocks and soil. The most worrying thing is that without organizing boarding meals, the children have to go home at noon, which will be very difficult and affect their daily routine, and the teachers will not be able to take better care of the children."

There are teachers there.

Never before have there been two consecutive storms and floods right before the new school year. From Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Thanh Chuong... dozens of schools and school sites were flooded, covered in thick mud... But also in that place, never before have people seen such touching human love, affection, and mutual support.

It is the image of a District Party Secretary rolling up his pants and wading through floodwaters, retrieving books and school supplies of teachers and students. It is the image of soldiers, youth union members, parents and people with hoes, shovels, and any other tools to help clean up the school. It is the image of kind hearts reaching out to help with blankets, clothes, and notebooks for students.

And the teachers there…

I thought of tears, of panic and fear, how could I avoid it when so many schools and properties, fully prepared for the new school year, were suddenly swept away by the flood? But no, I saw a kindergarten teacher looking for and collecting a set of cardboard letter and number cards, and drying them in the middle of the school yard in the blazing sun after the flood. She said, each set of cards like that costs 70 thousand dong. Keep them for the children to study, not to enter the new year without any toys and equipment, it would be a pity for the children.

The brief voice of the principal of Muong Ai Primary School after two consecutive floods: When the storms are gone, we will overcome them. The whole school has been mobilized these past few days, everything is very urgent. Everything will be finished soon, welcoming students to the new school year.

This is a thank you from the teachers of Con Cuong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities to the forces that were present to help the school the earliest, and to the press reporters for their encouragement and interest in the school.

I was surprised, and suddenly realized something about the teachers in the highlands that I had never thought of before. Not only the love for students, the love for the profession, the spirit of overcoming difficulties and hardships silently, but also a bravery, a strong will silently facing all difficulties, shortages and natural disasters. To have teachers there, is like having a belief, a solid support for many generations of students, and for us...

Ho Viet