evacuation center education

When was the last time you were in an elementary classroom? For me, it had been a while - but I had an opportunity to visit and walk through two different evacuation centers last week.

When Typhoon Washi hit, all the school were out of session because of the holidays. Someone made a decision to turn schools into evacuation centers. While it seemed like a good idea at first, it has presented some unique challenges - not the least of which is what to do with all the people now that school is supposed to start this week.

Can you picture the size of that elementary classroom? Now imagine 6 families - yes 6 - living in that classroom. Families - meaning adults and children - together living and sleeping in one room. I spoke to one woman who told me that she was living with 12 families! They sit outside to eat - making their own campfire of sorts to cook over and I noticed trash barrels lined up outside - about every other classroom.

I noticed several tents set up in the front yard areas - perhaps for people who came late? The interesting thing is that none of the people given tents were actually inside the tents. The ground is still muddy/wet so naturally it's not conducive to sleeping on. Ever resourceful, they were putting together tables and chairs as makeshift beds so they could at least stay dry for the evening.

When I asked the woman who was living with 12 families "if I could wave a magic wand and give you one thing, what would it be?" She responded, "the financial means to rebuild our home. We just want to go back".

I didn't have a response for her...