Tsunami Survivors Return to School
• Schools are reopening in areas hit by last month's tsunami, but things are far from normal.
With many schools destroyed or badly damaged, some teachers have gathered their students outside. About 60 children, many barefoot and muddy, showed up this week at an elementary school in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. They sat on benches and chanted verses from the Koran, Islam's holy book.
Indonesian kids attend classes held outside.
(Beawiharta -- Reuters)
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Normal lessons won't resume for weeks, the principal said. Instead, teachers are helping the children heal. They are survivors of a disaster that killed more than 150,000 people, including half of their schoolmates.
"I'm worried about my friends. I don't know what happened to them," said K.G. Kasmhi, 10, who attends a school in Sri Lanka.
About 80 students in Galle, Sri Lanka, helped clean debris from their school. Before the tsunami, 2,400 were enrolled.
Y.G. Gamage proudly showed the scrapes he got when the surging water hit his family's home. "When the waves came, I climbed onto the roof," he said.
Correction: Tuesday's story about Ellie Shelton said she swam 500 meters in about 3 1/2 minutes. That would be really fast. She actually swam 200 meters.
