According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper in late November, every afternoon, groups of students from Keo Lom Ethnic Boarding Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, Na Son Commune, Dien Bien Province, brought buckets of basins and clothes, followed each other along the trail to the stream to bathe.
The distance from the school to the stream is about 1.5km (one way). The stream is located deep at the foot of the hill, with narrow, steep roads and many sliding sections of rock and soil, posing a potential safety risk. To ensure, students are guided to follow the group.
Talking to reporters, some students said that since entering school, the shortage of domestic water has occurred frequently.
"If you are lucky enough to have water, you can swim at school, if not, you have to go to the stream to bathe. Walking down the stream is quite tiring" - a student said.
Another student also said that there will be about 4-5 days a week when they have to go down to the stream. "We just want to bathe and shower at school to reduce the hardship" - the student expressed.
Talking by phone with reporters, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son - Principal of Keo Lom Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities said that the school has a total of more than 530 students, of which about 400 are boarding students, and the need for water is very high.
According to the Principal, the shortage of domestic water has been happening for many years. The main reason is that the school is built on a rather high hillside. Previously, the school drilled wells but after a while the water was gone.
Mr. Son added that in 2023, the school drilled two wells about 300m from the school. Then, he used a pump to pump water into a large tank, then from the large tank he used a pump again before going to school for the students to use.
However, the water source from these two wells is currently only enough to serve the most basic activities such as cooking, toothbrushing and cleaning.
"This season, if children go swimming early, there will be enough water for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the students. Those who shower late do not have enough water, so they have to go to the stream to swim. Providing enough shower water for all children is difficult" - the Principal informed.
According to Mr. Son, during meetings with the Na Son commune government, the school gave opinions on the water shortage. Accordingly, the commune will study a plan and find a way to build a dam above the school as a long-term water supply solution for teachers and students.
