Hle Bee School has 2 buildings. The second building has 5 small classrooms. The roof is leaves but the FLOOR IS MUD. We went over there so little because you can't walk as your shoes stick in the muddy ground and you have to pull your foot out every time. This is where 5 of the 7 classes of children work. The chairs and desks sink into the mud as the children lean on them. This is the rainy season and so mud splashes all over the place as the floor gets very wet. It is not safe or hygienic.
We asked the Headteacher - if you could choose one thing to improve your school now, what would it be?
A concrete floor for the second building, she said. We asked how much it would cost.
To get workers to work all day on a Saturday, for concrete blocks and for 3 cars of sand (!), the cost would be 137.50 pounds.
We both felt so angry that for such a small amount of british money, so much could be done to transform the educational experience and health of so many children. THIS WORLD IS SO UNFAIR.
We talked together and gave the headteacher the money she needed to do the floor this morning. By lunchtime the concrete blocks had arrived, the sand will come by tomorrow (thundershowers permitting) and when the children go to school on Monday, they will have a concrete floor!
The workers are here, the materials are cheap so it can happen so quickly. Imagine getting workmen so fast in Edinburgh! In fact, imagine getting workmen at all in Edinburgh!
We are not trying to say we are good samaritans but trying to show you how little it costs to change lives here. To walk away would be criminal.
5 comments:
Just read your last two blogs. How do you cope with the roller-coaster of emotions?
Have sent you an email, hope you can receive it.
Lyn & Chris
We just go with that roller coaster. Today was time to weep and be angry. Tomorrow we leave and we will weep again. Then we will sleep all Sunday to recover! A nurse who is here from Newcastle just told us she usually bursts into tears weeks and months after she gets home as awful images from the refugee camps flash into her mind. So that is still to come... It's an insightful question, Lyn and Chris Thank you and also for your email.
so how many floors are needed- can we back here be of assistance quickly and see such immediate benefits?
It is amazing that 8000 miles away here, the sadness of your leaving the children was palpable as we read your e-mail- how powerful emotions are if we can only tune into them.
There was a purpose to you visiting the school - not least a concrete floor.
Rowena
Reading your thoughts posted in this blog is a slice of reality. I can understand what you are feeling and thank you for your passion. I am sure the school will have been much encouraged by your visit. Now I hope you can take a good break in the south and enjoy the sea. All the best Chris
Rowena and Malcolm, we will ask our trusted friend here today before we leave, what needs done now. We know there are people that have just been attacked by the army in Burma over the border and their village destroyed. Some of our friends here are making a way to find out what these people are needing now so they can prepare for them coming here. We think maybe these injured people are going to need help in the next few days. We cannot speak about this openly on the blog as we can't risk people's safety but we will ask what can be done to help and post.
Dang, it is wonderful to hear from you. We are thinking about you often here. We used your thai writing to help us find the bus to Mae Sot and now we are going to your city for 4 days so we will think of you even more. We hope Newcastle is getting warmer for you. You must be very homesick.
(For those of you who read this, Dang is Chris Robinson's new wife, who is from Thailand and has moved to Newcastle. A brave woman on many counts!)
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