Floods destroy schools, principal chokes up writing 'letter from the heart'

After the terrible flash flood in the mountainous area of Nghe An on the night of July 22, many villages, schools, and houses were buried and submerged in mud. Of the 24 schools and school sites damaged, My Ly 2 Primary Boarding School (My Ly commune) was the most severely affected.

After the flood, My Ly 2 Primary School for Ethnic Minorities was submerged in mud.

On his personal Facebook page, Mr. Tran Sy Ha - Principal of My Ly 2 Primary Ethnic Minority School shared status lines that moved everyone.

“In the recent historic flood, because the people of My Ly commune (former Ky Son district) are located in the flood-prone area, they were severely affected. The spacious school, where teachers and students spent their days in the village, now only remains a pile of rubble and mud. The floodwaters rose so quickly on the night of July 22 that they completely submerged the rows of houses, swept away and buried most of the facilities, teaching equipment, and daily necessities of teachers and students. Many teachers burst into tears when looking back at the place that had been attached to many generations of students, now buried under 3-5m thick mud…”, Mr. Ha wrote.

The school was buried under 3-5m thick mud.

According to the school principal, although teachers and local authorities tried to raise important equipment, the water was too strong and all the equipment was completely washed away. Not only classrooms, multi-purpose rooms, and dormitories, but also food processing warehouses, equipment rooms, and archive rooms were submerged.

After the flood, the school suffered complete damage, including: 12 televisions, 5 refrigerators, 22 desktop computers, 3 laptops for teaching, all desks and chairs of 7 classrooms; the kitchen with full cooking utensils and 1.7 tons of rice reserved for boarding students at the beginning of the new school year was also submerged in the flood. In addition, books, personal belongings of the students and blankets, beds, wardrobes, and belongings of boarding teachers were also swept away by the flood.

“Over the years, My Ly 2 Primary School for Ethnic Minorities has received investment from the Party, the State, charitable organizations and the community to build it into a bright spot in the border area. In the midst of the poor border area, it is a symbol of faith and hope for a better future for the children of the ethnic minorities here. But after just one night, everything almost disappeared with the flood…”, Mr. Ha shared.

Letter from Mr. Tran Sy Ha - Principal of My Ly 2 Primary Ethnic Minority School

Mr. Ha said that before the flood, the school had assigned local teachers to move all the papers, books and boarding equipment of nearly 90 students (who had just been sponsored) to the upper floors for their use during the school year. However, because the water rose too quickly, it reached the second floor, causing all the papers, school supplies and teaching equipment to be submerged in water.

In this extremely difficult situation, the school earnestly hopes for sharing from the community, kind-hearted people near and far. In the immediate future, the school needs to be rebuilt, needing tables, chairs, cabinets, books, teaching equipment, blankets, kitchen… to be able to welcome the children back to class in the upcoming new school year.

The recent floods have severely affected the education sector in Nghe An. In response to this situation, the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An has launched a campaign to support the recovery of the flood consequences caused by storm No. 3 (Wipha).

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Teaching equipment in many schools is damaged.

During the launching ceremony, the Nghe An Department of Education and Training and several high schools donated nearly 400 million VND to flood victims in the Western region. In the immediate future, the Department will provide emergency support to teachers who lost their homes and schools that suffered heavy damage.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An, said that the flood occurred when there was only about a month left until the new school year began. However, currently, many schools and school sites have been severely damaged, many houses of officials, teachers and students in the highlands have been destroyed by the flood, and all their belongings have been swept away by the floodwaters.

Nghe An education sector launched a campaign to support overcoming the consequences of floods caused by storm No. 3.

To quickly overcome the damage, the industry is in dire need of the attention and sharing of colleagues and people across the country, to help people, teachers and students in flood-affected areas return to normal life. In the long term, the industry will continue to call for resources to support schools damaged by floods, supplement facilities, teaching equipment, textbooks and notebooks for students to ensure teaching and learning needs.