Bwatnapni

Bwatnapni

Interview with Principal, Bwatnapni School

In this interview, the principal of Bwatnapne Primary School, Bal Hudson, explains that Cyclone Harold is the worst cyclone the area has ever seen.

The problem here was twofold as there was the damage caused by the wind and the damage caused by ocean swells. Wind caused damage to the houses, including the staff houses, classrooms, removing the roofs, and all of the books, resources and stationery, all of the learning materials, including the computers, photocopier and TV were destroyed. The sea was so rough that the waves also hit the buildings in the village, smashing through the windows. Water damage by the waves was unprecedented. Nobody in the village has ever seen anything like it before.

The principal states that it will be very hard to resume school. They are also faced with the problem of food. Within the community, everyone has lost their crops so there is a food shortage. The children cannot come to school while there is no food. The ‘home school packages’, distributed to children as a result of the Covid-19 induced national state of emergency, have been lost to the cyclone, meaning children are unable to study at home.

He goes on to talk about how, during the night of the cyclone, people either sheltered in the municipal building of the local councillor, one of the staff houses and in the school office. They stayed there until the morning when the cyclone had passed. There were a few minor injuries from debris during the storm- nails, glass, falling objects; however, there was nothing very serious.

To get back to normal, the principal suggest that it will take years and depend on the plants that are able to be planted. Some take 6 months; some take 9 months until they are ready. In terms of the school, it is difficult to say when they will return to normal as the rebuilding is more expensive than they can afford, they also cannot afford to buy new books/ learning materials or rebuild the staff houses. He’s hoping that within the next 5 years they will be able to rebuild.

The food that is delivered as relief makes a huge difference. After Cyclone Pam, it was distributed as a certain number of kg of rice per person, but now it is one bag of rice for each single household; however, the definition of a household is unclear. They are not taking into account the size of the household. Red Cross also visited recently and gave out things like tarpaulins; however, they were short of supplies and there was not enough. Red Cross prioritised the most vulnerable: widowers, widows, the disabled and handicapped. A lot of people have had nothing yet.

There has been no help yet towards the school. The principal concludes with his thanks for the visit and says that this is the first time people have asked for their ideas/ feelings on the matter. They are thankful for the opportunity to speak. The principal appeals to the alumni of the school and says that they are in a state of crisis. He is appealing to families and alumni for help. He also mentions the fact that the future sea level rises will make rebuilding complicated and they need to take into consideration the likelihood that there will be more category five cyclones to come.