Dubai Cares and Save the Children bring hope to children affected by the earthquake in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Nia Ramadhani is a 14 years old student in the seventh grade who is living with her parents in Palu. She has a brother and two sisters. Every morning, she goes to school on foot for 20 minutes.
When the 7.4M earthquake hit the city, Nia was heading to the mosque with her parents and three siblings for sunset pray. They got panicked and ran to safer place. Fortunately, they were all safe.
The next morning, Nia found her school was already badly damage by earthquake. She and her friends were forced to study under an emergency school tent for several months and later in a temporary school for six months. The teaching and learning activities there were uncomfortable. Sometimes, there were strong winds carrying dust or heavy rain seeping into the tent. Nia, who felt disturbed and unfocused when studying, didn’t manage to get high rank in class. Now she only hopes the situation get better every day.
Nia’s school had been marked formally by the City’s Education and Culture Department as damaged school that need repair. Save the Children joined in this repair program. Supported by Dubai Cares, Save the Children retrofitted Nia’s school buildings. Retrofitting is a method of repair to strengthen the structure of an existing building. This method requires smaller cost and shorter time that the usual method. In January 2020, Save the Children finished this retrofitting process and handed the buildings back to the school. Nia and her friends can now study comfortably to pursue their dreams.
Nia said: “I like my new class because it is comfortable. I like the color too. I want to have a good career, I want to take part in every poetry reading contest and I want to be a class champion. I thank Dubai Cares and Save the Children for the support. My friends and I can now study calmly at school.”