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20 of the Most Unbelievable and Perilous Journeys Students Endure to Reach School
They climb mountains, swim across lakes, and glide on steel cables to get to school.
School—a word dreaded by some, and only fantasized by others. While some kids cut class or pretend to go to school for the sake of their allowances, millions of boys and girls around the world wish for nothing more than to sit on that empty chair and listen to their teachers.
In developing countries, not all children can finish elementary because most parents lack the financial capability to get them educated.
However, there are parents who go to great lengths to provide their children with a good education. And their kids—knowing that learning how to read and write is not a luxury for them— are willing to make tremendous sacrifices as well. These boys and girls are aware that a major part of their ticket out of poverty lies in the knowledge and skills they can obtain within the four corners of an educational institution.
Therefore, despite living in poverty-stricken or highly remote areas, and literally going through hell and high waters, these students are determined to learn and eventually graduate.
Take a look at 20 of the most unbelievable and perilous journeys students endure to reach school.
#20. Cilangkap Village, Indonesia
Children have to stand in this makeshift bamboo raft to cross the Ciherang River.
#19. Delhi, India
More than a dozen children have to ride this horse cart to spare them from the long walk back to their homes.
#18. Kerala, India
In Kerala, India, these students have to travel by boat.
#17. Sri Lanka
These girls need to walk across a beam on the wall of the 16th century Galle Fort in Sri Lanka.
#16. Myanmar
Some children don’t have the luxury of a car or a school bus. They only ride a bull to get themselves to school.
#15. Riau, Indonesia
These lads use a canoe. They don’t even have an adult to supervise them on their journey.
#14. Zanskar, Indian Himalayas
Children have to trek and brave the fierce, icy weather of the Himalayas to reach a boarding school.
#13. India
Crossing this tree root bridge is the only route these pupils have to take to get to the nearest school.
#12. Beldanga, India
Although it doesn’t look conducive for the kids, at least, these students can rely on a TukTuk (Auto Rickshaw) to bring them to school.
#11. Sichuan Province, China
Imagine your child crossing this broken bridge in bad weather.
#10. Gulu, China
Brave students travel for five hours into the steep mountains to reach the nearest school. The path is mostly one-foot-wide.
#9. Pangururan, Indonesia
In Pangururan, Indonesia, students travel via a wooden boat. But they have to stay on the roof because it can get very crowded inside.
#8. Province of Rizal, Philippines
These students rely on an inflated tire tube to cross the river and get to school.
#7. Sumatra, Indonesia
Students walk on a tightrope across a river in Padang. They don’t have a harness to keep them safe or gloves to protect their small hands.
#6. Zhang Jiawan Village, Southern China
Students boldly climb a series of unsecured wooden ladders in the remote mountains of Badagong.
#5. Pili, China
Students set out on a 125-mile-journey through the mountains of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to reach a boarding school in Pili. It takes them two days to complete the voyage, which requires crossing a 650ft chain bridge, four single-plank bridges, and wading through four icy rivers.
#. Lebak, Indonesia
Children cross this dilapidated suspension bridge in Lebak. However, when their story was publicized to the rest of the world, PT Krakatau Steel, Indonesia’s largest steel manufacturer, built a new bridge to help the students cross the river safely.
#3. Java, Indonesia
This conduit, which separates Suro Village and Plempungan Village in Java, wasn’t built for humans to walk on. But students either walk or ride a bicycle over this aqueduct as a shortcut instead of walking more than six kilometers just to reach school.
#2. Colombia
Believe it. Students have to glide on an 800m steel cable, which is 400m above the Rio Negro River.
#1. Jerusalem
In 2010, Palestinian protesters threw rocks at Israeli troops during an encounter in Shuafat, a refugee camp near Jerusalem. Still, this innocent girl calmly walked towards her school, nonchalant of the chaos that surrounded her.
Children shouldn’t have to climb mountains, swim across lakes, or dodge rocks and bullets just to reach school and have themselves educated. No child deserves to face those kinds of dangers in the first place. I just hope this article serves as a wake-up call not only to the children who take their education for granted but to the governments as well. It’s high time they do something about these, don’t you agree?