VERON. On completely wet floors due to water leaks, the students of the Juanillo Educational Center, in the Verón-Punta Cana district, receive their education.
A faulty plug is the cause of the constant flooding that affects classrooms. Students and teachers struggle daily with brooms and mops to contain the water leaking from the connector.
«We cannot expose children to dealing with water whose origin we do not know. We have had to suspend classes and electricity,” said Yeni Lewis, director of the center. Students and teachers have been forced to travel to a nearby church due to the lack of classrooms.
This congregation provided space for classes. Four grades, including second, third, fourth, and fifth, with approximately 43 students each, are taught in the church with its worn zinc roof and numerous holes, where leaks occur during rainy days.
Students face a hostile environment daily, walking among stones, deteriorated streets, and dust. They must also navigate streets busy with vehicles and heavy trucks.
CLASSROOM DIVISION
The two classrooms inside the church are separated by plywood panels, which can make the learning process difficult.
«Teaching classes in these conditions is complicated. Everything that happens around you can be heard here, and I have to keep the students focused,” said Carmen Mercedes, one of the teachers.
Mercedes also mentioned daily problems with water leaking from the plug. “We continue teaching under these conditions because we are teachers by vocation,” she stressed.
The teachers working in the church regret that they cannot decorate the classrooms due to leaks in the walls. The educational center requests help to build the necessary classrooms and bring all students together in one place.
HELPING HAND
Parents and teachers hope to receive support for the purchase of materials to continue teaching classes in a more suitable environment. Despite having some construction materials, they are not enough to start the project.
Mercedes Contreras, a mother of a student, expressed her concern about the constant flooding in the classrooms and asked for help from the authorities or anyone willing to collaborate with the educational center.
«It is necessary to build classrooms. We cannot continue teaching classes in a flooded church,” emphasized Esmerlin Pulinario, one of Juanillo’s teachers.
He stressed that these conditions are not conducive for students to acquire optimal knowledge. The school lacks fencing or gates to protect students from the street and unauthorized people entering the classrooms.
Students must go to the nearby Juanillo school, about five minutes away, for their school snack since there is no cafeteria in the center where they could buy their snacks. The school’s transportation has been broken for over three months due to a defective part, forcing them to rent school transportation, costing 50,000 pesos per month.