For most children getting to school means taking a bus ride or car pool, and some are lucky enough to be able to walk a short distance. But for children in other parts of the world, getting to school can be dangerous and the journey is long. Here’s what some of them face in order to get an education.
Children in Gulu, China hike a 5 hour journey into the mountains on a one foot wide path to school.
The children also wade through four freezing rivers, cross a 650 foot chain bridge, and four single-plank bridges. The journey takes two days.
School children climb on unsecured wooden ladders in Zhang Jiawan Village, Southern China to get to their school.
These children hike through snow to get to boarding school through the Himalayas in Zanskar valley.
Can you imagine crossing a dangerous suspension bridge to and from school everyday like these young children in Lebak, Indonesia?
These kids zip line 2,624 feet on a steel cable 1,312 feet above the Rio Negro River, Colombia.
Children in Riau, Indonesia take a canoe ride every day to and from school.
Children hike through the forest and cross a a tree root bridge in India.
This girl rides a bull to school in Myanmar.
Some children in Beldanga, India ride a rickshaw to get to class.
A father and his child cross a snowy, broken bridge to get to school in Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, China.
Children in Pangururan, Indonesia stand on the roof of a wooden boat.
School girls walk across planks on the wall of the 16th Century Galle Fort in Sri Lanka to get to class.
A boat takes students to class in Kerala, India.
School children pack into a cart pulled by a horse to get to school in Delhi, India.
Students ride a makeshift bamboo raft to cross the Ciherang River in the Cilangkap Village, Indonesia.
It’s a treacherous 125-mile journey to a boarding school for these children and their parents through the mountains in Pili, China.
These children have to walk a tightrope 30 feet above a river in Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia
They also walk an additional seven miles through the forest.
Elementary school students have to carry inflated tire tubes to cross the river in Rizal Province, Philippines.
Then they walk an hour and if it rains and the river swells, they are forced to find shelter at a relatives or skip school.
I used to complain about having to take a bus to school. I had no idea how easy I had it. Share this story with your friends with school children. They'll be surprised at what these children face everyday in order to get an education.