Comprehension: Bedouin Children Determined To Learn In Remote School

It takes a certain kind of dedication to be a pupil at the Jahalin primary school, where children often walk for hours across tough desert terrain just to get there. Others come by donkey to this small but thriving Bedouin school tucked away in an inhospitable corner of the Judaean desert, just outside Jerusalem. 

Watch the video and answer the questions below. Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. There has always been education available in Wadi Abu Hindi.

a. True

b. False

2. The school complies with the Israeli building regulations.

a. True

b. False

3. The Bedouin believe there will be road access very soon. 

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

It takes a certain kind of dedication to be a pupil at the Jahaleen primary school. With no road access, teachers and students must cross desert terrain to get there on foot. But for the Bedouin children studying in the impoverished West Bank community of Wadi Abu Hindi, it’s worth the effort. 

“I want to study because I want to become a teacher. My father and my mother promised me, because my older brothers stopped, that they would educate me and my other siblings. " 

Some 300 Bedouin from the Jahalin tribe live in Wadi Abu Hindi, which is made up of tin shacks and where there is no running water or electricity. 

"Before the school was created, this area was lacking in education. Most of the families here, 90 percent or even more, couldn't read or write.” 

Although the community would like to pave a road to the school, they can’t. They are located in a part of the West Bank known as Area C, which is under full Israeli military and administrative control. Buildings must comply with stringent Israeli regulations or face the threat of demolition. 

"We are people that are deprived from any public services. Our houses and school were demolished in 1997. We managed to get an order from the High Court which allowed us to put things back as they were. We are suffering since 1997. In 2011, they again sent us threatening orders.” 

But for now, the bamboo school, which was renovated by the villagers with help from NGOs, has been spared. 

Answers:
1. b
2. b
3. b

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