Additional Coverage:
- Fast-acting principal in Nepal evacuated 900 students before flooding swept away their school (nbcnews.com)
BIDUR, Nepal – When floodwaters surged unexpectedly through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley last week, Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, acted swiftly to protect his students. While in his classroom, a colleague burst in with an urgent warning: a devastating flood was approaching, threatening homes and villages in its path.
Despite limited information and little time, Dawadi didn’t hesitate. He rang the school bell and ordered staff and students to evacuate immediately, guiding them toward higher ground.
Moments later, a parent came to retrieve her child, and a teacher received a confirming call. The danger was real-and fast moving.
From a nearby hill, Dawadi watched in disbelief as the school building, where he had once studied and taught, was swallowed by a violent torrent of water, mud, and debris. Tragically, two staff members were lost in the disaster and remain missing.
Thanks to Dawadi’s quick decision, at least 900 students escaped harm. The flash floods, triggered by a glacial collapse in the Himalayas, have claimed over 950 lives across Nepal and Tibet, with more than 4,400 people still missing.
The tragedy has taken a heavy toll on the region’s education system. Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School alone had 1,643 students, and many more were en route to campus that morning.
Dawadi even called bus drivers to turn back before they arrived, narrowly preventing more from being caught in the flood. One bus narrowly crossed a newly built bridge moments before the old bridge beside it collapsed.
For Dawadi, the loss is deeply personal. “I have no words.
I got education from that school. And I gave education at that school,” he said.
But the destruction extends beyond his school: aid organization Save the Children reports that at least 69 schools in northern Nepal have been destroyed, threatening the education of nearly 19,000 students.
In the days following the disaster, Dawadi’s leadership has been recognized as heroic. Parents overwhelmed with gratitude embraced him, tearfully thanking him for saving their children. Fourteen-year-old student Suvina Tamang expressed her appreciation: “I will thank him when I see him” for saving her life.
Yet Dawadi humbly deflects praise, emphasizing that protecting his students was simply his duty. Looking ahead, he stresses the urgent need for psychological support for students, and the importance of resuming education-even if temporary classrooms must be established.
His message to the Nepalese government is clear: rebuild the schools swiftly so children can return to learning and regain a sense of normalcy amid the tragedy.