Studying in a tent
It was only nine months ago when Shree Irkhu Higher Secondary School in the mountain village of Irkhu was full of life. The school had running water and school's thick walls protected over 500 students from cold Himalayan breezes. There was a newly established Students Committee with a main goal to make the whole village as child-friendly as possible.
Trembling earth
In April 2015 devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal followed by a 7.3-magnitude aftershock in May putting the whole village of Irkhu to a halt. The town, located about 40 kilometers east from Kathmandu, was forced to manage on its own in a very demanding situation. After 15 days of the quake the relief workers finally reached the village bringing people cookies, rice and noodles.
Irkhu is part Sindhupalwchok district where the quake left more than 7 000 people homeless and demanded more than 3 500 lives. Irkhu Secondary School lost two of its pupils. More than 90 percent of the schools in the area were damaged severely as did the school in Irkhu. The whole village was left with no more than five intact buildings.
Nine months after the quake the school is still standing, but not steady at all. The building is very dangerous due to the possibility of collapsing. For security reasons the school should be demolished but the funding to do that is not yet found.
Tent school with a mountain view
The pupils from Irkhu Secondary School have been located from the old school building into a temporary school which stands on a rented land on a hillside nearby. The temporary school has been cobbled together from tents and corrugated iron huts. Partly ragged tents are not the best kind of sound absorber: it's not easy to concentrate when you can hear clashing voices of teaching and singing from other classrooms.
The view from the tent school is breathtaking. The Himalaya opens in front of the viewer. Even the cloudy weather doesn't spoil the scenery. The price the students have to pay for these views is the cold gale from the mountains that goes right thru the tents and huts. In winter nights the temperatures can go even below zero. Besides the cold another acute issue is to maintain satisfactory level of hygiene in the challenging conditions. There are only four latrines in relation to more than 500 pupils. Running water system was destroyed in the quake and all the water that is needed have to be carried to the school.
Student's strong voice
The situation in Irkhu village is extremely challenging but people think it's still far from hopeless. By working together the village has accomplished a lot. Setting up the tents was co-operation between local people, district level aid workers and organizations and the co-operation will still continue.
In Irkhu the importance of the school is clear and understood. After the quake it was very vital to get the students back to school as soon as possible, first by offering food in the school. Also donated books, school uniforms and school bags were used to motivate children to get back to their studies. The head teacher highlighted that after a catastrophe the best way to get the routines back to the lives of the children is get back to the school schedules.
Due to the quake the school was closed for 40 days. Now the children are studying even harder than before and morning and evening classes are held to compensate the lost time. There are 18 devoted teachers in charge of teaching. On Saturdays, local day off, the students have they well-earned rest.
In Irkhu Secondary there is a School Management Committee that is aiming to pay more attention to the challenges of the students, especially helping the children to deal with their fears and offer counseling. The Students Committee is still active and they are still aiming to make the village more child-friendly even though the starting point is anything but easy. According to the chair of the Students Committee the change will start from the school. First on the list are the poor conditioned latrines.
The strong voice of children is by no means a coincidence. For an example Unicef, Finland's long-term partner in co-operation, is a devoted supporter of children's rights in the area. The education sector has been supported as well. Finland's input to the education sector in Nepal in 2015 was five million euros. Finland also funded post-earthquake emergency relief with four million euros.
Sannakaisa Janhonen
The Embassy of Finland in Kathmandu