The principal of a government school in flood-hit Nepal has set up tents to ensure hundreds of children he guided to safety two months ago can continue their education.
Rajendra Dawadi, head of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot, one of the areas hit hardest by the flash floods, was hailed as a hero when his swift actions helped to save the lives of 900 children, before a torrent of water crashed into the school compound on August 26.
He has made it his mission to enable classes to continue, using 20 tents and the shaded sections of a local sports academy. His goal is to provide some normality to families who lost their homes and livelihoods in the flooding that killed at least 1,455 people, with 5,285 listed as missing.
“People lost everything. But the children are still eager to study,” Mr Dawadi told The National. “There was a big celebration on the first day – I thought most children would not come back to the school, but more than 95 per cent came back, they cheered, they exchanged happiness.
"I was very happy. My school family, the teachers, students, their smiling faces made me more happy.”
A video from September 21 shows children cheering as classes resume in tents set up on higher ground. Mr Dawadi, 47, said it could take at least two years to rebuild the school.
As thousands across Nepal look to pick up the pieces after the disaster – which was caused by glacial ice and rock collapsing into a Himalayan river – the UN has said funding is urgently needed.
Fractured lives
The raging waters that cut through the school compound have since receded. Only the roof of a three-storey building is still visible, with the rest submerged in thick mud. Other buildings were swept away.
The devastation across six districts has left deep scars in the school. One child became an orphan and 12 pupils lost one parent.
“Many children need our support. They lost their father, some their mother,” Mr Dawadi said.
“The students had counselling sessions, music classes. We try to motivate them, we make it like a family environment in school. I tell them it was a black day but we saved our lives and had a rebirth for me, my colleagues, my students. It was a rebirth from the great disaster.”
Attendance is strong, with 1,621 pupils showing up for class. They sit on the floor in tents and share benches and desks under the stairwell of a sports centre. The tents, books and furniture were provided by Unicef and private foundations.
School authorities await a decision on new land where they can rebuild. Until then, there are other pressing matters – pupils will need a library and science labs. Two more buses are also required to help children get to lessons at the tent site.
Parents whose children had attended private schools are now sending them to free government institutions. “People are in trauma but they are doing their work, they are trying to be normal,” Mr Dawadi said. “Parents are worried about studies so they send children here, even if it’s in tents.”
Critical moments
It took only 11 minutes from the time Mr Dawadi first raised the alarm to when floodwater crashed into the school. Two school staff were killed in the flood.
Mr Dawadi was teaching when he heard two staff members shouting about heavy flooding in the nearby Rasuwa district.
He quickly told teachers to take pupils from each class to higher ground, urging them not to panic. Mr Dawadi turned away a bus with young children that was entering the compound and anther bus was also alerted about the danger.
Older pupils who had motorbikes and bicycles were asked to help take other children to safety. “People were saying, 'Flood, flood,' but the sun was shining here,” he recalled. “But I decided to close the school. First, I told my staff to ring the bell. Then I told class teachers to go to separate classes to say school is off due to the flood, to go to a safer place … three girls fainted. When we left the school, the water had already entered. It was 11 minutes.”
But Mr Dawadi praised his staff. “I am not the real hero,” he said. “My team worked together, this was my duty. For this, I was recognised all over the world.”
Heart of community
The school is a vital part of the community and parents have welcomed the return of classes.
“We had tears in our eyes when school started – all parents felt it,” said Sharmila Shreshtha, 46, whose home and stationery shop were destroyed in the disaster. “We have nothing. Our homes are gone, our shop is gone, we are so tired. But the school makes everyone happy.”
Pupils have appealed for books, computers and lab equipment. Aspiring software engineer Saswot Shah, 14, worries about how a lack of equipment will affect his studies.
"Earlier we had smartboards, computers, maths and science laboratories. Now we are just surviving. We work together but we need a proper computer and maths lab,” he said.
Pradakshina Shreshtha, 16, lost her home and now lives in rented accommodation. She hopes to be a doctor, but worries about exams.
“I’m really happy to study in my own school, meet my friends and learn from my own teachers,” she said. “Before the floods, I thought I would pass the exam and join a science college. My dream is the same but it’s more difficult to study now. We need books. Our study materials are all gone.”