Students go to class hungry no books and uniforms<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Many students are being forced to study in appalling
\nconditions due to the recent floods that inundated their schools,
\nwhile many others have been prevented from attending classes
\nbecause their schools are still flooded or are being used as
\nshelters for the flood victims.<\/p>\n
Among the students who still have a school to go to, many have
\nbeen attending their lessons hungry as there is nothing for them
\nto eat in their still-flooded homes.<\/p>\n
One teacher, Rismu, has been donating her own food to hungry
\nstudents whose homes in Cipinang Indah, East Jakarta, are still
\nflooded.<\/p>\n
\"What a pity. They look so hungry ...,\" said Rismu, who
\nteaches at the Santa Maria junior high school in Jatinegara, East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Her students were doing tests on the veranda outside their
\nclassroom on Thursday as it was too dark to work in the classroom
\ndue to a power blackout.<\/p>\n
They were sitting their second term tests under petromax
\n(hurricane lamp).<\/p>\n
There are also many students, like Melissa, 7, and her younger
\nsister Meilani, 6, from the Kebon Manggis elementary school, who
\nhave to go to school without books, uniforms, or shoes. They lost
\nall their schoolbooks when the floods swept away their home on
\nthe side of the Ciliwung river in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta<\/p>\n
Their mother said they had received no assistance in the form
\nof books, uniforms or other school requirements.<\/p>\n
Ardi and Didi, who study in state elementary school SDN 06 in
\nGudang Peluru, Kebon Baru, South Jakarta, said they could not
\nstudy as their school was still being used as a shelter for flood
\nvictims. On Monday, after having been off school for a week, they
\nreturned to school for two hours of classes.<\/p>\n
\"But, yesterday and today, we're off as many flood victims are
\nstill taking refuge in my school,\" said Ardi.<\/p>\n
The floods returned on Wednesday to swamp hundreds of homes,
\nespecially along the banks of the Ciliwung River, forcing
\nthousands of residents to abandon their houses again for
\ntemporary shelters.<\/p>\n
Didi said his home was still inundated by the floodwater up to
\na depth of 40 centimeters. \"Fortunately, my father has put all my
\nbooks in a safe place,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, students of the SMU 8 state high school in Bukit
\nDuri, South Jakarta, had to move to an alternative site as their
\nclassrooms were still full of stinking mud, while their
\nschoolyard was still inundated by water up to a depth of about 30
\ncentimeters.<\/p>\n
\"The third year students have moved to a building on Jl. Dewi
\nSartika, East Jakarta, while the other students are studying at
\nanother place nearby in Tebet Dalam,\" said an employee, Tukino.<\/p>\n
The floods have destroyed everything in the school's office,
\nincluding computers, blackboards and documents, and also washed
\naway the school walls.<\/p>\n
During the height of the floods, the water reached 150
\ncentimeters in depth.<\/p>\n
According to the city administration, a total of 802 schools
\nhave been damaged and over 180,000 students have had their
\neducation disrupted.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/students-go-to-class-hungry-no-books-and-uniforms-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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