A Treasured Friendship

The tidy and spacious cafeteria. Uncredited photos by Li Yuan

Real Changes

Teaching conditions have significantly improved at the new school. The number of classrooms has increased from three to 13, and new facilities have been added including a music classroom, a science lab, a library, a computer room and an audio room for English lessons. “Though the curriculum is the same, the quality of teaching has evidently improved thanks to these modern facilities and apparatus,” said Gyian Lhamo, a teacher at the school.

Attracted by the good working conditions, the teaching team has also expanded, from 16 at its peak prior to the earthquake to the current 47.

But it’s the students who study and live at the school who are the happiest about the rebuilding. Doje Cering, a fifth grader, still remembers how he felt when he first set foot in the new school. “My friends and I were scampering up and down the stairs, excited to see the spacious classrooms. We played on the rubber-surfaced playground, it didn’t hurt even if we stumbled.”

As headmaster of a school for orphans, Gengga Jamyong regards these young charges as his own children. He is relieved and grateful for the convenience and comforts the rebuilding has brought to the student community. In the past the students had to wash clothes outdoors even on bitter winter days; now, they have a laundry room. The heating system also spares them the daily torment of lighting coal stoves in winter months.

Two African-style oil paintings adorn the doorway of the school’s main building, a gift from the government of the Republic of Congo. When construction was completed two years ago, a ceremony was held and Congolese Foreign Minister Basile Ikouébé attended. There was a drizzle that day, and the foreign minister told those assembled that rain foretells good luck in his country. The teachers and students performed a traditional Tibetan dance to greet their guests. “The Republic of Congo is thousands of miles away from China, but offered help to us in our time of need. We cherish this friendship and are grateful for their help. We will do our best in teaching and nurturing the young generation at the school, and disseminate the friendship of African people among all our students,” Gengga Jamyong said.