Ragaytung Primary School

Presents

Ragaytung Primary school is located on the hilltop that overlooks the Pasakha industrial estate . The school campus spreads over three acres, and is an hour’s drive from Phuentsholing, one of the border towns in Bhutan.

Children ranging from 6-16 years of age take three hours to walk to the school, and three more hours to walk home. In total they spend six hours daily, time which could have been used for studying and doing home tasks.

With no houses nearby the school to be rented, and having walked for six hours daily under the harsh monsoon seasons in the southern belt of Bhutan, a class III girl Chimi Wangmo almost quit her education at the age of 9.

Sitting by her side was a 9-year-old-boy, Tsheltrim, who felt pity for her upon hearing the difficulties Chimi faced. He immediately shared problems during one of the DFC Club meetings and suggested to have some solutions at the earliest time possible.

Chhimi, along with her friends, woke up as early as 3 AM, to set off for the school at 5 AM. During peak monsoon, they had to cross the swollen rivers and deep forests that are infested by leaches and some deadly snakes. Having walked for three hours in heavy downpours, the girls’ dresses became wet, making them uncomfortable to wear while attending classes. In addition, most of them lost their concentration when the school session is in full swing.

Some of the problems we felt were:-Long Distance walk.-No housing nearby the school. -Crossing rivers. -Storm/Hail/Thunder/Leaches/Bites. -Landslides.

To solve the problem we decided to:- Make temporary shelter after seeking written permission from the Principal.- Seeking donations and support from various associations.- Requesting parents & community for help.

Upon thorough discussions, the Principal of the school allocated the areas where the temporary huts would be built. The parents used bamboo and timber to construct the huts and took three weeks to complete the makeshifts.

Upon the successful completion of “FEEL”,“IMAGINE”, and

"DO”, we presented ourfindings to the community,and to other schools.