Over the past few days, Bang along with more than 100 students at Hoang Mai Special Education School in Ward 16, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City couldn’t help but be curious about see a team of workers come to fix the toilets. .
After about 3 weeks of construction, two new toilets with over a dozen toilets and sinks were completed. The building is well ventilated and receives natural light through numerous ventilation cells facing the garden and a respectful roof skylight. In fine weather, no need to turn on the electricity, the room remains bright. Additionally there is a lighting system on the ceiling, when turned on the light fills the room. Then, the large mirror hanging in the sink area, the potted plants hanging above or on the floor, the illustrations of the lessons in the textbooks hanging on the wall made Bang and his friends very excited.
The new toilets at Hoang Mai School have a lot of light and many decorative details. Photo: Hoang Anh.Like Bang, Tuong Vi often hid behind the door to see the new toilet. Even though they are cognitively slower children than their peers, Bang, Tuong Vi or many other children in school have noticed the change in their school toilets and they want to show it to their parents. Mr. Long, a parent, when he came to pick up his child, was taken to visit the new toilet by his baby and could not help but be happy with the children. “No wonder she’s been talking about the new school toilets these days,” he said.
Ms. Tran Thi An, principal of the school, said that the new toilet is the gift that the “Dream Bathroom” program (carried out by cooperated with INAX – a brand specializing in bathroom equipment from the Japanese company LIXIL) to donate to the school. All equipment, toilets, sinks, taps, showers, ramps, tiles, lights, decorative plants… are sponsored by INAX. This unit also sent a team of construction workers, handling all the work, from demolishing the old toilets to building a new one and decorating the toilets.
Mrs. An still remembers, before the renovation, the toilets built for more than ten years at the school were degraded and presented many inconveniences and insecurities for the students, who were children with cerebral palsy, difficulties in mobility and young children with mental retardation.
Although the school has been repaired many times, the drainage pipe is often clogged, sometimes there is a bad smell and dampness. Sometimes the water was so smooth the kids almost fell over. The sink and toilet are also old, many chipped places. Therefore, many children are afraid to go to the toilet.
Indeed, many students at the school cannot go to the toilet alone, but must be accompanied. Some babies have to go in a stroller or use a booster seat and then have to climb or crawl into the toilet. The toilet is small and dark, while the capacity of the children is limited, so after going out, the children are not clean, there is still garbage clinging to the body, bringing the smell into the classroom. Many mentally handicapped children don’t even know how to go to the toilet so they have to set up biological clocks for them, remember the time to take them to the toilet because with just a little negligence they can go get dressed properly far.
Once, a student innocently asked Ms. An, “Miss, are the toilets everywhere dark and smelly?” made her think a lot. It was also the motivation that helped her write a letter to the “Dream Bathroom” program in the hope of having a Christmas present for the children in a difficult year due to Covid-19.
When she learned that her letter had been accepted, Ms. An felt very happy, showing it to all the nuns in the convent – as well as the teachers at the school. She also wondered if she should accept this gift, what the school would get and what she should do. Indeed, not all sponsors come to support, the school also accepts. The school always considers that the accompaniment must contribute to the development of the personality of the children. This program fulfilled this desire of the school, making the girls very satisfied.
Three old toilets from the first toilet were replaced with six new ones with enough handrails. Photo: Hoang Anh.Architect Bui Hoang Duy (Duy Bui), who redesigned the Hoang Mai school toilets, felt that in the design of bathrooms and toilets, the design for the disabled is the most difficult, because the people with disabilities can walk with difficulty, often in a wheelchair. “In foreign countries or in standard places, in public spaces, people always think of people with disabilities first. Circulation and toilets should have wide doors and suitable paths for wheelchairs to enter,” said the architect.
On the day she received the project, Ms. An felt happy because the children were not only easy to use, but also showed great interest in the new toilet. “The project was completed just a few days before Christmas, which is a meaningful gift for the school and the students in this Christmas season,” said Ms. An.
Hoang Anh – Vnexpress
