War children find new home at schools

	DHRUBA DANGAL JIRI (Dolakha), Aug 31:Whenever anyone asks him about his father, 12-year-old Sudip Shrestha promptly replies that he was a ´comrade´ or ´great martyr´. The minor child does not know the proper meaning of these terms, but he knows one thing for sure: his father is no more in this world. The unexpected death of his father was a tragic turn in his life. Suman Shrestha, a Maoist combatant, died in battle during the decade-long insurgency. Soon after the death of his father, Sudip´s mother abandoned him to his fate and married another man. Since that day, Sudip, a permanent resident of Syaule Bazar VDC-6, Sindhulpalchok district, has been living at the residential Sahid Smiriti Residental School in Jiri, Dolakha, which was established to house children orphaned by the Moist insurgency. For him, the school has been his house and home, says the fifth grader. “For many children, school is like a second home. But for me, the school is my first and only home,” he said. He was enrolled there in class two some four years ago. Like Sudip, Roshan Rimal of Namdu VDC- 5, also in Dolakha, lost his father, as well as his uncle and aunt during the insurgency. Though the loss of family members was a bitter experience, the shelter provided him by the residential school for the last five years has been a relief. “The memory of the insurgency leaves me with a nasty feeling. All children enrolled in the school bear similar scars from the conflict and that helps us forget the past, says Roshan, who is in Grade 9. Lately, the residential school in Jiri, some 184 kilometers from the capital, has been home to almost 250 war children like Roshan and Sudip. For the last six years, the school has been providing the children from some 19 districts an education and residential facilities. “When the children first arrived at the school, many of them wore a depressed look most of the time. But now the children are happy to be enrolled in school,” said Madhu Shrestha, principal of the school. The school was established by the government in 2007 with the aim of providing free education to children affected during the war either by the government side or the Maoists. The children come from various districts, including Dhading, Okhaldhunga, Solukhumbhu, Dolakha and Sindhupalchok. Indra Bahadur Khadka, member of the school management committee, said that though the school has been established for all children who are conflict victims, many mistakenly believe it is meant only for the children of Maoist insurgents. He said the government should disseminate correct information regarding the purpose of the school. As the school´s own building is still under construction, classes are currently being run at rented premises. The school building is being constructed on 27 ropani of land in Jiri at a cost of Rs. 50 million."We have decided to shift to our own buidling by the next academic session," admitted Khadka. The school was established as part of the government´s decision to construct a school for war children in each of the five development regions of the country. Similar schools are in operation at Lahan in the Eastern Development Region, Pokhara in the Western Development Region, Jiri in the Cental, Surkhet in the Mid-western and Dipayal in the Far-Western Development Region. From : www.mrepublica.com