The first school opened on a Monday morning. Not with fireworks.
Not with politicians making speeches.
Just with children. Hundreds of them.
They arrived wearing freshly ironed uniforms, oversized backpacks bouncing against their shoulders as excited voices filled the newly built courtyard.
Parents stood outside the gates, many wiping tears they pretended not to have.
For years, the neighborhood had shared one overcrowded school whose roof leaked whenever it rained.
Now...
bright classrooms stood where abandoned warehouses had once rotted.
The walls were painted with colorful murals.
Young trees lined the walkways.
A small library occupied the center of the campus. Every desk was new.
Every window let in sunlight.
A little girl no older than seven stopped just inside the entrance.
She looked around with wide eyes before turning to her mother.
"Is this really our school?"
Her mother smiled through tears.
"It is."
