Lesasa

Lesasa

Interview with Principal of Vanmamla Primary School

The interview commences to a backdrop of all the books that were soaked by the Cyclone being placed on the school lawns to dry in sun. You can also hear the sounds of reconstruction in the background.

The principal begins by saying that the cyclone caused a lot of damage to the school and staff houses. Toilets and kitchens have also fallen down. They have two classroom buildings which completely fell down, and one classroom building that is still standing – this one was used as an evacuation centre; it was built to hurricane standards. The library was badly damaged, and as a result, there’s lots of damage to books and stationery, which were subsequently blown around in the wind. All the older buildings were completely flattened. The double classroom, the kindy and two staff houses are all that is left of the school.

A lot of trees have fallen down in the grounds of the school. These were used by the children for shade, which means that the children can’t shelter from the strong sun anymore.

The community have come to help tidy up the school; today is the first day of the clean-up process.

She is uncertain about when school will be able to resume. There is a huge amount of damage at this school.

They currently have 107 students in the primary school and this has been rising every year. There are 33 in the Kindy. This means 140 students have been affected by the damage.

The principal proceeds to show us around the classrooms and damage. The first is a year 6 classroom. A lot of classrooms lost their rooves but those that didn’t were significantly water damaged. She shows us staff houses which, again, have been completely destroyed. There are roofing sheets scattered around but they have no idea which piece belongs to which building. They are looking like they are also too damaged to be reused.

Despite the huge damage, there were, luckily, no injuries in the area. In terms of the textbooks, they were ok as, after the warning, the teachers placed them in the office. The library books and the stationery are, therefore, the worst of the damage to the school’s supplies. This is the worst cyclone the school has ever seen. Any help for the school would be much appreciated. The principal ends with a thank you for the visit and the interest in this school.