Reaching out to students isolated by floods

After the historic flood, many roads leading to the highland communes of Da Nang were almost completely wiped out due to landslides, rocks and mud falling onto the roads, knee-deep mud...

But on that road, groups of teachers still clung to each other, overcoming landslides to get to school, where hundreds of students were waiting.

N SITTING IN A DUMP TRUCK BUCKET TO GO TO SCHOOL

From early morning, the sound of excavators echoed in the cold rain. With no other choice, the teachers of Phuoc Chanh Kindergarten (Phuoc Chanh Commune, Da Nang City) had to sit in the bucket of the excavator, holding on to each other, to overcome the serious landslide to get to class.

Behind the mud and heavy engine noise is a school with students who have been waiting for a week because of being isolated by the flood. "When I sat in the bucket of the excavator, I was shaking. On one side was a cliff, in front was mud, I could only close my eyes and pray for safety. But thinking about the students, my heart urged me to keep going," Ms. Vu Nguyen Hong Ngoc (33 years old, in Thang Binh commune, Da Nang city) began the story.

Teachers cross landslides with excavator bucket to get to school with students

PHOTO: NGOC THOM

Graduated from the Pedagogy Department ( Quang Nam University) in 2017, having worked in the plains, for the past 2 years Ms. Ngoc has volunteered to go to the highlands to teach. Although she is familiar with the hardships of staying in the village, she admits that she has never seen nature as fierce as this moment. Even though she is 6 months pregnant, she still decided to overcome the landslide to return to school. "When I heard that the school was isolated, I could not sit still. I just kept going, I kept telling myself that. Luckily, there were people helping me across the big landslide. Every step I took was a time to worry about the baby in my belly, but I thought that the children were still young and waiting for me, so I kept going," Ms. Ngoc confided.

Sharing the same determination, Ms. Nguyen Thi My Hanh (31 years old, from Viet An commune, Da Nang city), a teacher teaching 21 children at Phuoc Chanh Kindergarten, recounted her exhausting journey. "This time I had to walk for more than 2 hours, the mud was up to my knees. Many sections slid down to the foot of the mountain, it was scary to look at. But the children were waiting, how could I stop?" Ms. Hanh said.

Most of the teachers working in the mountainous areas, including Phuoc Chanh commune, every Friday afternoon ride their motorbikes dozens of kilometers to visit their children. On Monday morning, they wake up at 3 am and go up the mountain. "There are floods in the plains and landslides in the mountains. I am very worried about my students. I just hope to see them safe when I get there...", Ms. Hanh confided.

After more than 2 years working in the mountains, Ms. Hanh, like many other teachers, was bewildered when witnessing many landslides. But the current landslides are truly terrible. "At first, I was very scared, thinking that I might have to stop. But seeing the seniors go before me, I could not falter. We come here not only to teach, but also to let the children know that no matter how difficult it is, the school is still open, and I will still come to the students," the female teacher affirmed.

" TO KEEP THE CLASS, KEEP THE STUDENTS"

The road leading to the mountainous commune of Phuoc Chanh, which was familiar every day, suddenly became a harsh challenge. Many large landslides blocked the way, broken trees were scattered everywhere, and rocks and soil blocked the way, making the journey take 3-4 times longer than usual. However, everyone continued on.

Ms. Tran Thi Huong (34 years old, in Hiep Duc commune, Da Nang city), a volunteer teacher who went to the mountains to spread knowledge in 2022, said that what worries her most is that her young students will have to stay home from school for too long. "Just thinking about the smiles and the calls of 'teacher' gives me the motivation to keep going. I just hope that my students will not stop going to school, and not be afraid of natural disasters and give up on learning," Ms. Huong shared.

Teachers in the highlands help each other through knee-deep mud.

The trip sitting in an excavator bucket to cross the landslide area was an unforgettable experience for Ms. Huong and her colleagues. "The road back to school these past few days was truly terrible. The landslides were so severe that the road was no longer a road. This was the first time I witnessed such a severe natural disaster," Ms. Huong recounted.

From the landslide site to the school, it was only a few kilometers, but Ms. Huong and her colleagues had to walk for nearly 3 hours. They walked in groups, holding each other to avoid slipping. There were sections where the mud was knee-deep, and their sandals were stuck, so they had to pull each other to escape. "It was dark, rainy and cold, and I was so tired that I could hardly breathe, but I still had to go. I had to go to protect the class and the students. The students were waiting, so I couldn't leave them alone," Ms. Huong confided.

Ms. Le Thi Kim Oanh, Principal of Phuoc Chanh Kindergarten, said that the school has 5 campuses, including 1 main campus and 4 satellite campuses, with a total of 244 students. During the recent days of floods, the journey of the teachers was truly a battle with harsh nature. However, everyone tried to ensure that teaching and learning were not interrupted. "Some people are in poor health, some are pregnant, but no one said to stop. It's all for the children, so the teachers encouraged each other to go together, to help each other through the landslides," Ms. Oanh was moved.

To get to Phuoc Chanh Kindergarten, many teachers have to cross dozens of landslides.

Having lived in the mountainous region for 17 years, Ms. Oanh has witnessed many flash floods but has never witnessed such a severe landslide. Seeing her teachers covered in mud while moving through the cut-off roads, even being carried across the river by excavator buckets, made her worried. "Most of the teachers have not been working in the mountainous region for long, so when faced with serious landslides, everyone was scared. Some burst into tears out of worry, some were silent but still held their colleagues' hands to overcome them together," she said.

What touched Ms. Oanh the most was the sense of responsibility and love for the profession of the teachers. "There are teachers who live dozens of kilometers away, and have to wake up at 4am to get to class on time. If the road is landslide-prone and vehicles cannot pass, the teachers have to walk. Sometimes they have to wade through streams and forests. No one complains, they just hope that the students will not have any interrupted lessons," Ms. Oanh added.

The principal of Phuoc Chanh Kindergarten added that, up to now, although landslides have occurred on a large scale, thanks to the solidarity and efforts of the school and students, the temporary facilities are still safe. "There are still many difficulties, but we will still stick to the village and the classroom. Because in this mountainous area, every laugh of children is the motivation for teachers to continue moving forward," Ms. Oanh affirmed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/den-voi-hoc-tro-bi-co-lap-do-mua-lu-185251105204230048.htm