International Save the Children Alliance
Min Min returns to school
Min Min lives in a village surrounded by rice fields and huge trees, many of which were knocked over by Cyclone Nagris.
It is hard to imagine the strength of a cyclone, that destroyed houses and felled trees but Min Min doesn't have to imagine, he can remember what it felt like to run from its power.
The Night of the Cyclone
Min Min's sch
ool lost 8 of their pupils during the cyclone, and the village lost around 40 people out of approximately 600 villagers.
"When the cyclone hit, we ran off to an old barn", Min Min explains. "I wasn't scared, and I didn't cry. I was with my mother when it happened, and we just ran. We were not even thinking," he says. The barn is right next to Min Min's house so luckily his family was safe.
"I was very scared," Min Min recalls, "we had no idea this was going to happen. And when the cyclone came, we thought it was only going to last for a few hours. But it lasted all night."The Day After the Cyclone
The day after the cyclone, Min Min was so hungry, but his family had no food. Only wet rice.
"Our house was completely destroyed", Min Min's mother says. The family was afraid of another cyclone, so they did not want to start building a new house right away, but after some days the family started building a new place out of bamboo and this is where they live right now. Luckily they were able to use some of the wood and the building material from the old house, so now they have their own place to sleep.
"We lost everything", Min Min's mother says. "We have nothing left at all. We used to have two cows, but one of them died that night, so now we only have one left. My husband and I both work for other people. As we do not own a field - we have to work really hard to earn money to replace all the things we lost".
Min Min now lives with his parents and his grandmother in a new little house. The old house completely collapsed the night the cyclone hit. Min Min and his mother show us where their new house is. It is just down the road from Min Min's school.
Outside Min Min's house the family's remaining white cow is walking around together with the dogs. Their new house has been built right next to the old one. Min Min jumps up into it and finds a small plastic bag with a little bit of candy still inside. Their new house has been built right next to the old one and is built up from the ground - upon piles of old wood and other material - in order to keep the water out during monsoon season.
When walking on the narrow road Min Min's mother explains how high the water rose, in some areas all the way up to the chest. The day after the cyclone they could see they extent of the damage on the houses and the surrounding environment - and realised that many people would not have been as lucky as them in surviving the cyclone. 
His mother says Min Min is still quite a happy boy and luckily he does not have any bad memories related to the cyclone. A lot of people in the areas affected by the cyclone have problems sleeping after the cyclone - a common reaction following a disaster. "There are a lot of scared people in the village...every time the wind picks up, they get scared. Some of these people have seen things that they can never forget" she says.
A New School for Min Min and his Classmates
Min Min's old school is still too dangerous to go near for the students - with exposure to the elements and sharp building material, posing a danger to children. 
But now, Min Min is able to attend his 2nd grade class, in a temporary school that has recently been built and resourced thanks to aid agencies like Save the Children, who are supported by donations from public and private donations.
Min Min's school was finished by the 1st of June and is temporarily replacing the old school that stands right next to where the children are now having their classes. The temporary school is made of bamboo and plastic sheeting. It is nice and shady inside and at the moment there are 94 children attending the school that has two teachers and one headmaster.
This temporary school is both a safe and secure learning environment and comes complete with school material to help the children continue their education. "I like everything about school", Min Min says. "I like to read and to play with my friends."
Through the generosity of our donors, Save the Children is able to provide the opportunity for children like Min Min to return to their education, despite the hardships caused by Cyclone Nargis. By supplying the schools with school kits and materials, as well as temporary structures, teachers are able to return to work and continue to teach their children ensuring that educational opportunities are not lost for these students
"We are very happy with this temporary school", one of the teachers explains. "The old school is completely ruined and this is a community that really values education, so it is important for them, that their children can go to school here."
The importance of education in emergencies
All children have a right to education. In stable societies, children are educated both formally in school and informally through the process of intergenerational and community learning. Through these complementary processes, children are supported to develop and learn.
Yet in emergency situations education is frequently found to be interrupted, delayed or even denied during the reconstruction process and early response to emergencies. Family and community structures are broken. Traditional support systems for crisis management disintegrate. School systems, which often provide a focal point for communities, are also often destroyed, with schools used for camps, barracks or living quarters
According to the recent Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Vernor Muñoz said:
Education provides physical, psychosocial and cognitive protection that can be both lifesaving and life-sustaining.
Education offers safe spaces for learning, as well as the ability to identify and provide support for affected individuals, particularly children and adolescents. Initial emergency-response activities, such as the establishment of child-friendly spaces, offer safe areas for learning and provide a forum to identify and monitor the most vulnerable children. These and similar activities can mitigate the psychosocial impact of conflict and disasters by providing a sense of routine, normalcy, stability, structure and hope for the future.
Education mitigates the psychosocial impact of conflict and disasters by giving a sense of normality, stability, structure and hope during a time of crisis, and provides essential building blocks for social reconstruction and future economic stability.
Education can also save lives by protecting against exploitation and harm, including abduction,recruitment of children into armed groups and sexual and gender-based violence.
Education provides the knowledge and skills to survive in a crisis through the dissemination of lifesaving information about landmine and cluster bomb safety, HIV/AIDS prevention, conflict resolution mechanisms and peacebuilding.