Rajendra Dawadi from Nepal is the principal being hailed as a hero.
Rajendra Dawadi from Nepal is the principal being hailed as a hero right now.
*Who he is:*
- 47-year-old English teacher and Principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot district, Trishuli Valley, Nepal
*What happened last week (Aug 26-27):*
- At 9:20 am, he got a call from a friend: "The village is gone, taken by the river. Run."
- A glacier collapse in Himalayas triggered a massive flash flood that wiped out villages upstream in Rasuwa.
- At that time 900+ of the school's 1,643 students were on campus in a 3-storey building 60m above the Trishuli River.
- He rang the school bell, told teachers to stop classes and run to higher ground, and called school buses to turn back.
- They had just 14 minutes. As the last bus crossed the bridge, the old bridge collapsed behind them.
- All 1,643 children survived under a bodhi tree on the hill. The school building was completely swept away.
He said: "I thought even if warning was wrong, worst cost was one day of study. But taking it lightly could mean loss of hundreds of lives."
The flood has killed 900+ people in Nepal-Tibet with thousands missing, so his quick action saved a whole generation of that town.
He is now appealing to India and others to help rebuild the school.
Comments