The road to De Kon Village

Mang Yang Mountain Pass at the end of De Kon Village, Hra Commune, is often called the "Heaven’s Gate". Hra Commune is surrounded by mountains and the residents' lives depend on the cassava fields. The pupils at Hra Number 2 Primary School are mostly from minority ethnic groups. The path to the school site is extremely difficult as the teachers have to cross a 4-km slope.

The teachers start the journey to the school site from 5 am. Despite the cold weather, 55-year-old Le Thi Dieu and 48-year-old Ha Thi Linh still sweat as they struggle to push the motorbikes up the slope.

"I'll retire in one or two years but I volunteered to teach there because I felt for the pupils and wanted to encourage young teachers to continue my job," she said. "We are most worried when it rains. The road becomes very slippery. We had to abandon our motorbikes and walked for hours to the school. No one steals our motorbikes."

A classroom at De Kon school síte

The villagers help keep the classrooms clean. Hra Number 2 Primary School has 28 pupils from first to fourth grades. When some pupils were absent, the teachers would go to the village to find and carry them to school. At first, they had faced many difficulties but the situation has improved.

"If the pupils are ill then we'll take them to the medical station. Over the years, more and more people have understood the importance of studying and are more active in bringing their children to school. They also give us vegetables or chickens," Linh said.

Nguyen Huy Ba, who has taught in Hra for over a decade, also said that the villagers really loved the teachers. "When they saw us lacking in many things, they told us that we can stay with them. They will not let us hungry," he said.

Le Thi Kim Quy, head of Hra Number 2 Primary School, said, they had 556 pupils, most of them are from Bahnar ethnic group. They have set up many school sites in various villages so that the children can study.

"Two teachers have volunteered to go to De Kon Village. We'll send the teachers there alternatively to improve the teaching quality," Quy said. "We are also calling for clothes and school supplies donations for the children. Thanks to it that, the children are more eager to go to school." Dtinews

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