VietNamNet Bridge – For many children in the far-flung communes
of Kong Chro District in Central Highlands Gia Lai Province, going to school means
crossing the swift stream of the Ba River - either by swimming or traveling on
a makeshift, antiquated ferry.
When the water rises, most of
them have to skip school.
Those who manage to attend
classes have to walk for more than five kilometers and wait another two hours
for the ferry, which has to transport dozens of children from the Ki A1, Ki A2
and Bien communes.
Dinh Thi Noc, a seventh-grader
from Kpa Klong Secondary School, said she was once swept away by the current
while trying to swim from her home in the Ki A2 commune to school.
"I managed to swim to the
shore," she said. "It's really dangerous when the water rises."
Located in Dak Doa District, the
secondary school has about 324 students, including 40 students of the Bana
ethnic minority who live in the three villages on the other side of the Ba
River.
Tran Thi Hong, the ferry driver,
said many students begged her to get them across the river because they did not
want to miss their classes.
"It's dangerous," she
said. "I don't want to carry them, but we have no choice."
Teachers at the Kpa Klong
Secondary School have pooled money from their salaries so the students can stay
in the school during the week and go home on the weekend.
That way, they only have to cross
the river twice a week instead of twice a day.
Local authorities say that there
has so far been no report of students drowning when crossing the Ba River to
school.
Dinh Thi Chich, another
seventh-grader at Kpa Klong Secondary School, said she used to swim across the
river every day to get to school.
"Now I can stay at school
during the week. When we don't have class, we often run errands to help the
teachers," she said.
Nguyen Duc Luc, the principal,
said setting up boarding classes has been difficult as the Government only
provides about VND70,000 a month per student – just enough for the children to
buy notebooks and other school supplies.
"Sometimes we have to borrow
money to buy rice from local residents, businesses and commune authorities so
that the students can have enough to eat," he said.
Tran Bieu, chief administrator of
the Kong Chro District People's Committee, said local authorities were aware of
the problem and had instructed people's committees at all levels to encourage
the students not to skip school.
The district is working with the
provincial Department of Transport and Gia Lai People's Committee to consider
building dining rooms and offering boarding classes for the students.
According to Bieu, the district
was also working with provincial authorities on plans to construct a bridge.
For now, students such as Noc
continue to dream about the bridge.
"We don't want to be this
scared before going to school every day," she said.
Source: VNS
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