Can’t Go To School Tomorrow?

For many of us, having an extra day off from school was a dream come true. For me, it was especially exciting because of bad weather, a rainy day, a foggy morning, a warm cozy bed, and my mother not rushing me to get up and get ready for school.

I would imagine spending the day watching cartoons and my favorite television shows, calling my friends to see what they were doing, and enjoying my hobbies. If it had happened to me, I would have watched SpongeBob SquarePants, Phineas, Doaremon and Ferb, Winx Club, and all the other shows that came on television. The next day, I would meet my friends at school and talk about how we spent our unexpected holiday. Isn't that what most children would do?

Thinking about this takes me back to my childhood. I grew up in Pokhara, one of the rainiest places in Nepal. I often wished for a day off because of the rain so I could stay at home and relax. But that holiday never came. Rain was such a normal part of life that school continued as usual, no matter how hard it poured.

As much as a weather-related holiday seemed like a dream to me, for many children living in the hilly regions and rural villages of Nepal, bad weather is not a dream, it is a nightmare.

During the monsoon season, landslides wash away roads and damage pathways that children use to get to school. They wake up ready for class only to find that the road has disappeared into a river or been buried under debris. Repairs can take weeks or even months. During that time, they must either stay at home or take long and dangerous detours that can add hours to their journey.

Meet Nina, an eight-year-old girl who studies in a community school. On normal days, it takes her more than an hour to reach school. Nina dreams of becoming a teacher one day. Every morning, she sets off carrying a school bag that her mother stitched by hand at home. Before leaving, she carefully wraps a plastic sheet around it to keep her books dry from the rain. The bag may be simple, but it carries her hopes for a better future. During the monsoon, however, she often cannot attend school because of the constant threat of landslides. Some days there is simply no safe road to travel. As dark clouds gather over the hills, she is left wondering whether she will make it to school that day.

Nina is currently in Grade Three. Her school only goes up to Grade Five, and after that she would need to attend another school much farther away. Her parents cannot afford the transportation and other costs involved. Although Nina does not fully understand it yet, there is a real possibility that her education will end in just a few years.

Nina lives with her parents, two sisters, and an older brother. The family survives through farming, but the harvest only lasts for a few months each year. After that, life becomes a struggle. Her older brother faced similar challenges and eventually dropped out of school. He now works as a laborer in India. Nina's sisters attend the same school and face the same difficulties. Without access to education, they too are at risk of dropping out and becoming vulnerable to child labor, child marriage, trafficking, and other forms of exploitation.

For children like Nina, the monsoon season brings uncertainty, isolation, and lost opportunities. Poverty, difficult geography, and a lack of educational access make life incredibly challenging. Yet something as simple as a safe place to live, learn, and grow could completely change the course of their lives and the lives of future generations.

So I guess not everyone has the privilege of thinking of a holiday because of bad weather. For some children, bad weather does not mean a day of rest and fun. It means another day without education, another obstacle to overcome, and another reminder of how difficult life can be.