THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thanks to 60-odd students from across the country, Our Lady of Mercy Lower-Primary School in Kurumbuthuruth, near Kochi, which was badly damaged in Kerala 's unprecedented floods in August, has opened a new chapter. Situated on the banks of Periyar river, most of the school's classroom furniture was ruined beyond repair, soaked books became worthless and the compound wall collapsed.Students from five schools - Sarla Birla Academy in Bengaluru, Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya in Gwalior, Daly College in Indore, Sunbeam Laharthara in Varanasi and the host Trivandrum International School - took up the cleaning and rehabilitation project under the aegis of Round Square, an international network of schools.In just four days, around 60 students cleaned up the school premises, painted the sprawling walls with motifs of ocean and sky and created a garden by planting flowers and tree saplings. They also conducted a collection drive for books and toys which were donated to the school. They even set up a small library "The challenge was to reach the location as the only road was found to be in non-motorable condition and we took a ferry to reach the school. The students enjoyed working for the cause," said Sangeeta Biju, the Round Square representative from Trivandrum International School.The students sought help from local masons and a contractor to complete the construction and painting work. Prior to the cleaning drive, Round Square representatives visited Kurumbuthuruth in September to assess the damage, following which applications were invited from volunteers for the work.

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