La Concordia School, located in Colinas de Bello Monte, has had to close the school playground where physical education activities are also carried out, due to the imminent risk of another landslide occurring, which affects the leisure and recreation of the students. students
After 13 days, the Colegio La Concordia, located in Colinas de Bello Monte, is still awaiting a concrete response from the Baruta municipality mayor’s office on the measures to be taken after the landslide of a nearby construction that impacted the institution’s field on Saturday, April 22, and puts 500 students who are part of the school at risk.
María Jesús Velásquez, administrator and member of the board of directors of La Concordia, explains that around 11:00 am on Saturday, a piece of concrete fell off a house and rolled down the side of the hill until it landed in the center of the schoolyard, bringing up debris and dirt.
Velásquez reported that the construction, which is located on the edge of a precipice that overlooks the school, is made improperly and that represents an imminent risk to the institution. «It is a danger because there are two other pieces of concrete loose and with the rains they will go down»he expressed.
Civil Protection officials from Baruta went the same Saturday, says Velásquez, to examine the school and told them that they had to close the school playground «Until that is resolved.” adThey poured out that the part of the house that is in danger of slipping should be demolished.
“If that had fallen during class hours, a tragedy would have happened here,” says the administrator. She points out that the children have not been able to use the court for two weeks.
He indicated that the poor housing conditions also endanger the 25 families that are rented in different annexes that have been built on the land without authorization. «When Civil Protection saw the house, they told all the people who live there that they had to evacuate.”
Velásquez explained that some of the tenants agreed and indicated that they could move to other places, but others expressed that they did not want to leave there. «If there is only one person against it, they cannot do anything. They have to try to convince them all so that the owner can demolish»says.
According to the administrator, a geologist from the Baruta mayor’s office went to the institution, as well as some workers from the Capital District Fire Department. However, they have not yet received a concrete response from the mayor’s office.
At the infrastructure level, Velásquez points out that the impact of the piece of concrete and the rubble caused holes and cracks in the asphalt of the field.
This landslide has also caused alert parents and representatives of the school. Magaly Ruiz, mother of a second grade student, commented that one of her concerns is that the landslide continues, so she maintains that it is important to demolish the house that is at risk to “feel that children are in a safe environment”.
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On the other hand, Joanny Machado, mother of two students in fourth grade and fifth year of high school, expressed that her concern is that the competent institutions do not deal with resolving the situation and the problem extends indefinitely.
limited recreation
Velásquez explained that the temporary closure of the patio has affected all aspects, but especially Physical Education classes and the students’ recess time. “As long as this is not resolved, we cannot function as a normal school, because we do not have the recreational space for the children”.
To teach Physical Education classes, they use lateral areas within the institution, as well as a secondary field, whose size is a quarter of the main field.
Carlos Spinetti, a teacher of this subject at the school, points out that these side fields are not suitable for carrying out some activities such as basketball, while the space in the secondary courtyard is insufficient for classrooms of 30 students.
Spinetti stated that this «radical change” of spaces has affected the students, who constantly ask him when they will be able to return to the field. In the open areas the children drain their energy with different sports during the break, something they cannot do now.
The representative also points out that children “They are limited in their spread.”, since the available spaces are small for the 500 students of the institution. Sometimes they have to stay in the classrooms, so «they miss that moment of recess ».
Velásquez asks the municipal authorities and those with jurisdiction in these cases to address his situation. «My call is for the mayor’s office to listen to me, which is the first entity that has to help us and if the mayor’s office does not help us, then any other entity is welcome to attend to the situation.”points out.
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