At
8am on 23 September 2006, a ringing bell signalled the start
of a new school year at Farhanghian Primary School in Bam, Iran.
Signs welcomed students to the new school, which was decorated
with flags and photographs. Colourful chairs lined the front
yard for the opening ceremony attended by hundreds of excited
students in dark blue-white uniforms and their parents.
This was a very emotional moment for all those present, who
remembered the terrible impact of the Bam earthquake on 26 December
2003.
According to the Ministry of Education, the earthquake left
all 131 schools in Bam and the surrounding villages destroyed
or damaged (to the extent of being unusable). Between 18,000
and 20,000 students were left without school facilities and
teachers.
Classes were eventually resumed in temporary container schools
some months later but students and teachers found it difficult
to undertake normal school activities, particularly during hot
summer and cold winter months. They longed to have classes in
permanent school buildings.
This is why the International Federation prioritised support
for the education sector during the recovery phase.
“It was like the sky had fallen down on us when the previous
school was gone with the earthquake,” said Reza Afshar,
principal of Farhanghian Primary School.
"We lost our hope for the future. But now we’ve moved
to this beautiful, modern school, which is even better than
our previous one. We are very grateful to the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for its sincere
support to the construction of schools in Bam.”
Farhanghian Primary School is one of five standard schools built
in Bam by the International Federation with the funding from
the Australian government as well as the Australian, Netherlands,
Irish, Canadian and German Red Cross Societies.
The other four, Jihad, Montazeri, Shamsaddini and Kafi, have
also been completed and all have been furnished to Ministry
of Education specifications.
The Farhanghian, Jihad and Montazeri schools opened on 23 September
2006 with around 400, 390 and 192 students respectively. The
Shamsaddini and Kafi schools will open shortly, as soon as registration
and staffing are complete.
“This is the school I was dreaming about”
Representatives of the Ministry of Education and local government
joined the teachers, students and parents at the opening celebration
of Farhanghian school.
They included Habibollah Burbur Hossein Beigi, Deputy Minister
of Education, Mohammad Javad Kamyab, Head of School Renovation
Organization of Kerman, and Majid Etemadi, Governor of Bam city.
"We are opening a new chapter in the history of education
in Bam,” Mr Burbur told the audience. “Eleven schools,
including the five Red Crescent-supported schools, are opening
today…classrooms for students are moving from temporary
containers to permanent and modern school buildings like this
Farhanghian, a positive change in the school atmosphere and
the educational facilities in Bam.” He also emphasised
how the new schools will help to remove one of the remaining
scars left by the earthquake.
"I love my school,” declared Ali Asgariyan, a fourth
grade student. “I like my classroom, its blackboard and
the colour of the walls. This is exactly the type of a school
I was dreaming about."
The International Federation is also building three special
schools for children with disabilities and a Bam model school
complex, a joint project with UNESCO.
All are expected to be completed by mid-November 2006, thanks
to the financial support of the Red Cross societies of Australia,
Andorra, Britain, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
Ireland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Monaco, Poland, Sweden and Taiwan.
In consultation with the Ministry of Education and the Iranian
Red Crescent, the International Federation plans to hold the
final ceremony of completion of the school construction programme
in Bam on 26 November 2006.
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At
8am on 23 September 2006, a ringing bell signalled the
start of a new school year at Farhanghian Primary School
in Bam, Iran. Signs welcomed students to the new school,
which was decorated with flags and photographs. (p14782)
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The
Jihad school opened on 23 September 2006 with around 390
sutends. (p14780)
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Students
at the entrance of the Farhanghian school. (p14786)
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A
classroom in Jihad school which has been furnished to
Ministry of Education specifications. (p14784)
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