Rising water surrounds school, hundreds of worries for teachers and students in low-lying area of ​​Can Tho

During the flood season, students in My Phuoc commune go to school by motorboat, and at noon they sleep in hammocks under makeshift huts built by their parents. On days when the water level is too high, the school is forced to let the students stay home.

Every morning in My Phuoc commune ( Can Tho city), long, narrow motorboats cut through the waves to take students to school. For them, the journey to find letters is not only about acquiring knowledge, but also about crossing rivers, wind and rain, overcoming the precariousness of the vast waves.

At dawn, Mrs. Nguyen Thi The (living in Phuoc An A hamlet) prepared meals and prepared things for her three grandchildren, then brought them to the motorboat parked in front of the house. The children's parents work as factory workers in Ho Chi Minh City, so the daily pick-up and drop-off depends solely on the grandmother, who is over 60 years old.

"No matter how hard it is, I will try as long as the children can study properly," Mrs. The said with a smile.

At the remote location, My Phuoc A Primary School has about 20 students from far away, having to eat lunch and rest under a leaf hut to study in the afternoon. Photo: DT

In addition to clothes and books, she also had to bring three hammocks for the children to take a nap. “One is in kindergarten, one is in first grade, one is in second grade, so I have to prepare everything,” said Mrs. The.

The house is nearly 6km away from My Phuoc A Primary School by river, each trip takes an hour. Mrs. The and many parents built 5-6 huts right in front of the school gate. A few stakes were driven down to act as pillars, with a thick layer of water coconut leaves on top to block the sun. A few wooden planks were placed on the riverbank to allow motorboats to dock safely.

Although they look simple and rustic, these huts have sheltered dozens of children from the sun and rain throughout the school year. After morning classes, the children eat meals prepared by their relatives on motorboats; then hang hammocks on the crossbars to sleep temporarily, waiting for afternoon classes.

Lunch on the students' motorboat. Photo: DT

The wind blowing from the canal made the hut shake slightly. Ms. Dang Thi My Tien (38 years old) fanned her 4th grade daughter while she was taking a nap. She said that the 30,000 VND/day gasoline cost was not a small expense for her - a mother in the countryside who was also suffering from breast cancer.

“There are days when I am exhausted, but seeing my child's eagerness to study, the family tries to bear the burden, just hoping that in the future my child will have less hardship than us,” Ms. Tien confided.

Flood water has not receded at the main school for many days. Photo: TT

This school year, My Phuoc A Primary School has 478 students. In addition to the main school, there is a satellite school about 2km away, consisting of 6 classes with 146 students.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hao, the school's principal, said that flooding caused by high tides, which lasts from September to December, has almost become a "daily occurrence" at both schools.

Water flooded into the toilets and school yard, reaching knee-high in some places. Parents had to wade through the muddy water to carry their children to class, while outside, the water was already reaching the front of the classrooms.

The water was knee-deep, forcing the school to let students stay home. Photo: TT

“We run the pumps day and night, but the water rises too quickly for us to pump fast enough. Flag-raising ceremonies and outdoor physical education classes have also had to be temporarily suspended,” Mr. Hao shared.

According to the principal, there were days when more than 100 students were absent from school, not because they were lazy, but because their parents had to bail out water to prevent flooding and could not send their children to school. “The school had to issue a notice for students to take a week off. The water gradually receded, and on November 6, the students returned to school,” said Mr. Hao.

Understanding the difficulties of both teachers and students, in mid-October, parents collected nearly 8 million VND, coordinated with teachers and local authorities to build a temporary road 15m long and more than 1m wide from the school gate to the classroom.

Temporary road from the school gate to the classroom at the satellite school. Photo: TT

Mr. Le Phat Khoi, Chairman of the People's Committee of My Phuoc Commune, said that this year the tide level was higher than in previous years, affecting schools in the commune. Right from the beginning of the school year, the locality conducted a survey of all facilities, recorded the degraded items and made a request for funding for repairs.

“However, the funding must wait for the City People’s Council to approve and allocate it. Once we have the funds, we will immediately start repairing and upgrading to create the best conditions for students to go to school,” said Mr. Khoi.

Students in Da Nang and Quang Ngai provinces were given a day off from school from the afternoon of November 6 to avoid storm Kalmaegi, which is expected to directly affect the central region.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nuoc-dang-cao-bao-vay-truong-hoc-tram-noi-lo-cua-thay-tro-vung-trung-can-tho-2459782.html