Mornings can be hard work. Not only do you need to get yourself up and out of the door, but you’ve got to encourage the kids to do the same thing. You need to find time for showering, teeth-brushing, and a healthy breakfast – and that’s before you even consider the school traffic. And once all that’s been dealt with, you’ll need to do it all in reverse when they come home in the evenings for dinner!
It probably won’t surprise many readers to learn that, when compared with children around the world, British kids have a pretty easy time of it. So, if you feel like you’ve got it rough in the mornings, spare a thought for the lengths some kids are willing to go to for an education.
Cairo, Egypt
Some children in the Egyptian capital don’t have access to pristine school buses from Allied Vehicles to carry them to their classrooms. They instead have to make do with ordinary trucks, which they cram into like livestock. It’s not exactly the safest way to travel.
Galle, Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, schoolgirls have to undertake a particularly tricky trek, the most notable section of which sees them have to literally walk a plank from one section of a 16th-century fort to another. This hair-raising moment was captured in this famous snapshot.
Rizal Province, Philippines
Getting from one side of a river to another is problem when there aren’t any bridges or boats available. In the rural Philippines, schoolchildren solve it with the help of an inflated tyre, which serves nicely as an improvised dinghy.
Indonesia
As you might expect, there are just as many rivers to contend with in Indonesia – and children here will board canoes, bamboo rafts to get from one side of the water to the other. If they’re lucky, there’s a bridge. In fact, some children will happily clamber across even if one side of the rope suspension bridge is collapsed.
Atuler, China
This list wouldn’t be complete without mention of Chinese children in the village of Atuler, who need to trek for five hours along a narrow mountain pass (which at times narrows to just a foot wide) to reach their school. They’re forced to clamber up ladders on a steep rock face to reach what is possibly the world’s most remote school, in Sichuan province. This particular school-run came to prominence after a series of photographs went viral in 2016. The photographer told the Guardian that “if you have any kind of accident, you will fall straight into the abyss.” Oh dear!
