Youth Day

Friday August 12^th was a big day for us at the Lower Secondary School. It was United Nations Youth Day and we all saluted the young people who will inherit our earth. 

It was a lesson free day but that did not mean no work.

The theme of the day at our school was ‘Youth Volunteerism’. 

To this end all students from Class IV and up were allocated different areas of Rangjung Town that they could set to with gusto and clean up!

My class IVs were tasked with cleaning the rather long road from the junction just below the Monastery all the way down to our house, a distance of several hundred metres.

There are paved roads with gutters and footpaths here but often there is no further development so the jungle/bush is slowly reclaiming what it can. Through every crack and fissure in the surface, plants take hold and the longer they are left undisturbed, the harder they are to remove.

Undeterred and undaunted our team attacked the triffid like growth with a vengance wielding their sickles like people possessed!

Swinging sickles with our house in the background.

 Those weeds didn't stand a chance!

Sonam Dorji attacking those weeds.

 Suitable protective clothing was, of course donned for the occasion.

The main man, Tshering Tashi, nice glove fella!

Best of friends, Dendup Tashi and Pema Sangay.

The indomitable Leki Dorji!!

 It was a pretty hot day and some of us were even being sun-smart!

Nice sun hat Choki!!

The Municipal Garbage truck came by and we eagerly loaded the piles of garbage we had collected from the side of the road into it and waved it goodbye.

The sign on the front of the garbage truck was hand made by two of the UN Club teachers.

Once the clean up was completed and coincidentally right about lunchtime, we all trooped back to school for lunch.

There is no such thing as a free lunch and the the students earned every grain of rice and every piece of potato they were served.

Some class V boys looking pretty pleased with themselves, Principal Sir is behind them.

There were some pretty happy campers there I can tell you!

All the food was prepared by our school’s resident Mr Fixit, Atta Singay and a select band of helpers. He makes a mean potato curry, rice and dahl I can assure you.

But is that enough chilli????

The kids enjoyed sitting around and eating their lunch without the time constrains of a regular lunchtime.

Mmmmm this tastes gooood!

 After lunch there were some games and things. We all enjoyed youth day immensely.