Not About Time

BHUTAN: AusAID and UNICEF have been working together to help Bhutanese children of all ages gain easier access to a quality education.

Alison Overton from UNICEF Australia recently travelled to the tiny kingdom of Bhutan to see how support, made possible through an international partnership, is benefiting a number of community schools.

As I fly in, the first thing I notice is the mountainous terrain - the only piece of flat land seems to be the small strip of airport runway. I'm also struck by the density of the forests. I don't see any expanses of land cleared for agriculture or housing.

In Bhutan, the word 'remote' takes on a whole new meaning. There are no national chains of hotels or shops, fast-food outlets or credit card facilities, not even many telephones. You don't see trains running past, or hear noise from planes overhead - even cars, which we take for granted in Australia, are absent. In fact, there's very little public or private transport of any kind. There are virtually no roads.

Most people live not hours but literally days away from the winding main road. This fact, plus the scarcity of transport and the enormous communication barriers between one place and another, means getting anywhere in Bhutan is, to say the least, difficult to organise and slow to achieve.

The truth is the Bhutanese are not caught up by time. Unlike our obsession in the West, they do not live by their watches. Whenever I ask how long it will take to reach 'point X', I'm cheerfully told, '20 minutes'. Four hours and a very steep climb later, I'm still told '20 minutes'!

While time may not faze the Bhutanese, they do worry, quite understandably, about their children walking long distances across remote and dangerous terrain. With their habitat virtually untouched, this is a place where it's pretty common to encounter wildlife such as tigers, bears and snakes.

Because of the distances, AusAID and UNICEF have been working together to construct new community schools, complete with water and sanitation facilities, much closer to village settlements. The result is children do not have to cover great expanses to reach school. The AusAID-UNICEF partnership is also developing teaching materials that can be used across all school grades. A special emphasis is being placed on improving girls' education.

Despite the distances and very real dangers that remain in some areas, I am moved by the children's enthusiasm to attend class and their eagerness to learn. It seems to me Bhutanese children are more than willing to walk two hours to school each day if it means they can receive an education. Given this, it's doubly important, I feel, for AusAID and UNICEF to continue their support. I'd like to see as many obstacles as possible removed. Every child has a basic right to an education.

Facts

Six community schools with water and sanitation facilities have been built
Six subjects have newly-revised multigrade instructional materials
240 teachers and principals have been trained on new instructional materials and multigrade teaching methods.

Above: Happiness is learning together. Photo: UNICEF Australia

Note: This and other stories on Australia's aid program can be found in AusAID's Focus Magazine.

January 2007