SQR visit report on a school: a good example of how stretched resources are, and how resiliently people are coping.
Basic Situation
The school was moved to Emei Shan City from Shuimo town in Wenchuan in August when it was completely destroyed by the May earthquake.
Comprising 786 students (ranging from age 12 to 15 and 46% of them are Tibetan, Qiang and Hui minorities) and 55 teachers (including dormitory management personnel), more than 800 people were allocated classroom and dorms that had been converted from workshops and warehouses in Shuren Vocational Middle School in Emei Shan City. This means the original dining room that was designed to cope with 300 people now has to cater for nearly 1000. Some students have to eat standing up. The same problem is found in the dormitories: according to Yang, the principle of Shuimo Middle, the most crowded room has 30 students. Thanks to the money given by Emei Shan government, a fairly good boiler room was installed, so children can have hot showers from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm every day.
Students have classes five and half days a week, from 8am to 8pm. Their little free time is spent reading a few dozen books, donated by government or individuals and stored in a 10-square-metre large “library”, or limited sports exercises in the simple playground.
With a small range of medicines, the one school doctor arranged by Emei Shan government can only deal with basic illnesses in the small school clinic. Therefore students have to be taken to hospital in town in the occurrence of major injury or other emergencies.
Other support
Hua Dan and Leshan Teacher Training College: occasional teaching support at weekends.
Help Request
Medicine (for cold, fever, diarrhea, athlete’s foot)
Books (for secondary school students and teaching material for teacher)
Doctors (if possible) and teachers (for weekend fun teaching)
Location
Shuren Vocational Middle School in Emei Shan City (2 and a half hrs from Chengdu, half an hour from the city centre of Emei.)
