Author: Modesto Vega

Four Weeks On …

17h00 London time, Thursday 2nd September 2010

The disaster occurred during the night of 5th-6th August: four weeks ago.  All classes are now functioning again at Druk White Lotus School – some in recently cleaned classrooms, others in tents and dormitories.  Staff managed to salvage some furniture, but a huge amount remains to be done to provide furniture, learning materials and equipment to restore the school to a fully functional level.

The challenge is acute because all materials and supplies required from Delhi or elsewhere in India will need to be ordered and delivered by truck before the only main road becomes blocked by snow, probably around the end of October. Air connections between Delhi and Leh generally continue throughout the winter, but air transport is too costly for heavy items.  Once the main road closes, it will probably not re-open until May 2011.

Oxfam staff are kindly helping in various ways. They have installed temporary latrines on the campus because the school’s own latrines are still filled with mud, as well as running workshops on topics such as hygiene. 

The school has so far admitted 17 new residential students displaced by the floods and mud.  Some are orphans or semi-orphans, while others are from families who have lost their homes or their property.

Telephone landlines have not yet been restored in the area and so there is still no school phone or internet connection.  A satellite connection is being installed on the campus thanks to a donor from the United States, in order to facilitate basic communications with the school’s partners and support groups.

Work continues on the clean-up of the external spaces around the campus, with continuing assistance from HCC (Hindustan Construction Company). 

A team of three engineering experts from Arup in London is preparing to come to Shey from mid-September to check the structural integrity and safety of the school buildings and infrastructure, and to understand how and why the mudslide occurred and scope preventive measures to ensure the impact of any future event will be minimised.

JCB India is kindly donating a mechanical digger to help with future works.

12h00 London time, Tuesday 24th August 2010

Back to School

All day pupils appear to be safe.  Two DWLS day-pupils who are currently in a relief camp will be moving into the school hostel for 2 months while their homes are rebuilt.

All classes have resumed in a combination of cleaned classrooms and dormitories, and in tents.  The residential children are back in the hostel and are no longer having to sleep in the Dining Hall.

Staff from HCC (Hindustan Construction Company Ltd) have nearly completed work on the clean up inside the buildings and will be active for a further 10 days on clearing mud and boulders from the campus.

12h00 London time, Thursday 19th August 2010

“All is not well” says Bollywood star Aamir Khan

Bollywood star Aamir Khan visited the school yesterday in the company of the school’s founder, His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa.  The school was the location of several scenes in ‘The 3 Idiots’ movie. 

Aamir said, “All is not well.  But for the sake of humanity one should help others.  One should raise the morale of others.” He asked people to “reach out and help the people of Leh and Ladakh.”

Help is coming from many quarters.  HCC (Hindustan Construction Company) is continuing to provide substantial assistance in the form of labour and machines to help clean up the school campus.  Experts from Médecins sans Frontières are on site, helping to counsel staff and students with respect to the trauma they have experienced.  And representatives of SEEDS INDIA, an NGO that specialises in community-based disaster management, have offered help with reconstruction. More than 200 individual volunteers have helped on site with the clean up of the school and we offer them our heartfelt thanks. 

Drukpa Trust, the school’s UK partner, and Live to Love are appealing for further funds to help pay for the replacement of learning materials and school equipment, and for the repair of buildings and infrastructure.

Classes restart in a phased manner

12h00 London time, Saturday 14th August 2010

The school’s founder, His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, arrived in Ladakh this morning and met with the Principal, Prasad Eledath.  His Holiness is comforting students and staff, and expressed words of support and encouragement.

Prasad said “The school has recommenced in a phased-wise manner.  With the grace and blessings of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, and the efforts of all, the school will soon be fully operational.” 

The lead class, M8, recommenced on Thursday 12th August, and classes M6 and M7 are due to restart on Monday 16th August. 
A volunteer has returned from Ladakh to London with many photographs showing the extent of the damage at the school.  We are in the process of uploading a selection of images to this website.

We are very grateful to the HCC (Hindustan Construction Company Ltd) for their rapid and solid support.  They responded last Wednesday to a request and today mobilised 55 staff on the Druk White Lotus School campus in Shey to help with the clear-up.  The team includes labourers, electricians and plumbers.  They aim to provide a JCB digger and tipper trucks from Monday to help remove the mud from the site – see HCC

The Resident Engineer, Anokhee Shah, is on site and with the support of colleagues in the London-based Arup Design Team will be starting a damage assessment of the buildings and infrastructure, and a risk assessment.  The risk assessment will guide the design and implementation of preventive measures to minimise injury and damage in the event of any future flooding or mudslides. Please follow this link Disaster relief for Ladakh school for Arup’s official news release.