Iron Army School built in quake-hit areas

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-30-2008 13:40

With the quake relief work going on, the rebuilding of schools is also continuing. In Zipingpu town of Dujiangyan, soldiers have used their tents to build a temporary school for students.

In Zipingpu town of Dujiangyan, soldiers have used their tents to build a temporary school for students.

This is not exactly a formal drawing class in the disaster-hit area. The teacher is a volunteer student from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the classroom is a tent used by soldiers to rest. It's a temporary school set up by the Iron Army, and that's why the school is called the Iron Army School.

Yu Youlin, Jinan Iron Army Division Armored Regiment said "On the day our school signed people up, so many people came. The locals are quite happy, as are the teachers and the local government, and especially the students."

Now, the number of students in the school is increasing, and the army say they feel a sense of achievement.

Wang Gaofeng, Jinan Iron Army Division Armored Regiment said "On the first day we had 32 students. Later, we went to the surrounding areas door by door to tell them about our school and then directly recruited the students. On the evening of the second day we had 248 students."

To provide the students more teaching and learning equipment, the soldiers went back to the quake-hit buildings to salvage what they could. The classroom they use is the tent where the soldiers rest and sleep.

Yu Youlin said "Our soldiers are now accustomed to this and we can overcome the difficulties. We put together some unused wood boards and one such bed can accommodate more then ten soldiers."

The Iron Army School also provides lunch each day for the students. The food is part of the quota for the soldiers. The disaster destroyed their schools, but with Iron Army's help, the students can continue with their education.

Editor:Xiong Qu