Acehnese students still study in tents<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post\/Aceh Jaya<\/p>\n
Standing atop the ruins of a house with only a tent to shade
\nstudents from heat and rain, it's just another school day at SDN
\nKampung Baro elementary school in Setia Bakti district, Aceh Jaya
\nregency.<\/p>\n
Seven months after the tsunami, the tent from the United
\nNations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has already started to look worn
\nout, being torn in places.<\/p>\n
The tent houses students in three grades, from fourth graders
\nto sixth graders, who are separated by nothing more than small
\nblackboards.<\/p>\n
Some of the students, who were not wearing uniforms, sat in
\nsmall chairs and others followed the lessons sitting on the dusty
\nfloor.<\/p>\n
On certain days, when the wind blows strong and the rain falls
\nhard, the school has to send the students home.<\/p>\n
\"When it's raining or the wind is strong, we don't go to
\nschool,\" Azrina Ulfa, a 10-year-old fourth grader, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The girl confessed that she missed having a real school with
\nwalls and doors and a table and a chair to sit on.<\/p>\n
\"It's hard for us to study this way. When is our school going
\nto be built?\" she asks.<\/p>\n
With the new school year just started, the children are in
\nhigh spirits.<\/p>\n
At SDN Kampong Baro elementary school, each student arrived
\nwith a bag, which came with relief aid, each containing a thin
\nexercise book, a pencil and an eraser, but no school textbooks.<\/p>\n
Seven months on, some 40,000 students in the western coastal
\narea of Aceh still have to study in tents.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, things will start to get better for students, as
\nUNICEF has requested the International Organization for Migration
\n(IOM) to erect prefabricated schools in Aceh Jaya.<\/p>\n
However, some 51 schools planned for Calang district, Aceh
\nJaya and its surrounding areas may not be finished in time due to
\ntransportation problems and building material shortages.<\/p>\n
\"But SD Kampung Baro will be finished in the coming week,\"
\nsaid IOM Media Officer Paul Dillon.<\/p>\n
The school will comprise three rooms, meaning that students
\nwill have to use them in shifts, morning and afternoon.<\/p>\n
Although they now have to study in tents, many students still
\nhave noble ambitions.<\/p>\n
\"I want to be a school principal. Please pray for me so I can
\nmake it come true,\" said Ade Marphan Saputra, a 10-year-old
\nfourth grader who lost his father in the tsunami.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/acehnese-students-still-study-in-tents-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}