As Abyei enters the dry season, red dust storms seem to engulf everything. The dilapidated Abyei Secondary School, with its loose doors and windows, offers little protection, forcing teachers and students to endure dust-covered classrooms. The schoolyard, muddy in the rainy season and uneven with jagged rocks in the dry season, poses a constant safety hazard to students.
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An uneven vacant lot transforms into a smooth playground after just one day of volunteering. |
Understanding these hardships, the Vietnamese “blue berets” utilized their day off to bring heavy machinery and tools to renovate the school’s surroundings and classrooms.
Witnessing the process, Senior Captain Pham Phu Hai, a representative of the UNISFA’s Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Office, noted that he highly appreciated efforts of VNEC-4 troops. They wholeheartedly supported the community with a high sense of responsibility. From leveling the schoolyard to reinforcing doors, everything was done meticulously to ensure safety. This was a very practical approach to civil affairs at the mission.
This urgency stemmed from a simple realization that every day the yard remains rough and the doors remain broken is another day the children’s education suffers from dust storms and scorching heat.
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A distinct difference is seen before and after the VNEC-4 renovates the schoolyard. |
Without formal ceremonies, the “Volunteer Sunday” began with soldiers and local teachers sketching plans directly on the dusty ground. Principal of the school Santino Jok was moved by the dedication of the Vietnamese peacekeepers: He underlined that they not only brought machinery to upgrade the yard but also took the time to fix every broken door and lock. Watching their performance, he could feel their sincerity.
While rollers and graders hurriedly leveled the uneven ground, troops from the VNEC-4’s Construction Engineer Detachment 2 busied themselves as versatile technicians. Loose doors were aligned and reinforced with screws, and rusty locks were replaced, allowing classrooms to be firmly shut against dust storms.
Meticulously working with his tools, Senior Captain Trinh Xuan Loc from the VNEC-4, confided that seeing local children have a flat, safe playground made the Vietnamese troops very happy. He only hoped local children have clean classrooms, sheltered from sun and dust, so they can focus on their studies.
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From the spacious yard to small locks, everything is completed with the responsibility and heart of Vietnamese blue-beret soldiers. |
In a land where sun and wind can quickly wear down iron and stones, Vietnamese blue-beret soldiers understand that the value they leave behind is not just material facilities, but faith in a brighter future.
As the sound of engineering machinery faded, “green shoots” of hope began to rise. The sustainability of this work is crystallized from the boundless love of Uncle Ho’s soldiers.
Translated by Minh Anh