Vietnam’s forgotten Hoang Lien Son Mountain school
VOV.VN - A group of photographers visited the primary school serving the 40 students of grades 1-5 at Hoang Lien Son Mountain recently to witness the dilapidated conditions for themselves. This is what they saw:
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Students perform morning warm-up exercises in chilly temperatures of between 11 and 12 degrees Celsius |
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Though bitterly cold many students wear only sandals without socks and some are barefoot |
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A thermometer hung outside the schoolhouse by teacher Hoa – one of the three teachers at the school – registers 12 degrees Celsius |
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First through fifth-grade ethnic minority students doing morning exercises. They all study together in one small classroom with a total of 40 students |
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Each grade level is given its own section of the one classroom |
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Most kids have no textbooks. Some lucky students receive old hand me down textbooks and notebooks from the school |
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Students listen to the teacher. Teachers at the school go to great pains to scour the mountain pass going home to home to persuade parents to send their kids to school |
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A boy studies attentively. Not all parents want to send their kids to school for many reasons such as the far distance they must walk back and forth |
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Students at different grade levels study in a small classroom |
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Simple classroom built of wood planks with no insulation and little warmth in winter. Teacher Hoa says the bitter cold in winter frost and snow is often unbearable |
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Ms Lien, wife of Mr Hoa teaches class |
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A female teacher instructs her first-grade class. Only five-six kids regularly attend |
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Sung Thi Do, a fifth-grade student often stays overnight at the school as her house is nearly 20km from school and too far to travel daily |
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Sung Thi Do and Ms Lien prepare meals |
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A painting by a student hung on the wall |
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Kids play outside the classroom. Mr Hoa hopes that classrooms will be repaired and upgraded to keep his students warm in the winter |
