Parents of preschoolers studying at Dechhenling Early Childhood Care and Development Centre in Pema Gatshel feel a permanent fence must be constructed along the Pelingtsho stream, located nearby the centre.
The suggestion was made considering the safety of their children. “We are really worried for our children. The stream threatens our children’s life. Every year, parents have to construct fence along the stream,’’ said one of the parents, Sonam Yangden adding that they would be thankful if the government constructs the barbed fence.
Other parents shared similar concerns. “We really fear the swelling stream in summer might pose danger to our kids. For their safety, we construct bamboo fence but that is not durable. I hope the government intervenes soon,” added another parent, Kinzang Choden.
The two facilitators at the centre are also concerned about the safety of the preschoolers.
“We have many preschoolers enrolled here and it is not easy to take care of each one of them. But we try. The stream is located near our centre and we are often worried that without our notice, children might go there and swim,” said one of the facilitators, Tshering Dema.
To address the problem, the Dechhenling Lower Secondary School (LSS) has approached the gewog administration.
“We have shared the issue to the gup. Though no separate budget has been kept to build the fence for ECCD, the gup has agreed to provide some fund from fiscal year 2018-19,” told Nidup Tshering, the Principal of Dechhenling LSS to BBS News.
Dechhenling ECCD Centre takes care of 30 preschoolers. The centre was opened in 2013 and benefits over 100 households in the gewog.
