Veenapani Decondary School

Veenapani Decondary School sits out near Old National Highway 12 in Vpo Tikar, which is part of Tehsil Jahazpur. It’s a bit of a trek for some of the kids who come in from the smaller villages nearby. I usually see them walking along the side of the road or piled into the back of a cart. The school is right there where you can see the trucks going past on the highway, so it’s never truly quiet. We have a fairly large open space around the buildings where the dust kicks up whenever the wind blows. It’s a simple life out here. Most of our classrooms are basic with just the essentials like blackboards and desks. We don’t have air conditioning or anything like that, so we just keep the windows wide open and hope for a breeze. The walls are painted a pale color that’s faded over the years. I spend most of my day making sure the kids stay focused and that the water tanks stay full. Since we are in a more rural area, we know almost every family that sends their children here. We talk about the harvests and the weather as much as we talk about schoolwork. It feels more like a community center than just a school sometimes. When the sun starts to set over the fields, the place finally gets still, and that’s when I usually finish up the paperwork.