Here are 9 of the world's most dangerous school runs.
You won't believe how these kids survive on their daily destinations!
Number 9: The Plank Walk, Sri Lanka Galle Fort is a sixteenth Century stronghold
built by the Portuguese and later strengthened by the Dutch.
Today it is nothing more than a historical monument, and its high walls are a means of
travel for local school girls.
Every morning, girls in white uniforms are seen dangerously walking across a narrow plank
that bridges the walls of Galle Fort just to get to school.
The sight is proof of the country's severe lack of quality infrastructure and unequal
access to education.
Sri Lanka has long been devastated by civil war and natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami.
The literacy gap is high, and youngsters would cross any dangers for a proper education in
order to escape the hard life.
Number 8: The Overcrowded Horse Cart, Delhi, India
India is an overpopulated nation with over 1.2 billion citizens.
Second only to China in its number of people, the South Asian nation's population is still
growing.
Projections from the UN estimate that India would overtake China to become the most populous
country in the world before 2030.
Delhi, India's capital territory has a population of around 13 million people.
People living in the large metropolitan area commute in extremely crowded circumstances,
with trains and buses filled to the brim, including its roofs.
The traffic is a nightmare, and most drivers couldn't care less about traffic lights.
A widely circulated photo of Indian schoolchildren in Delhi riding a horse cart shows how crowded
things could get.
At least 30 children are seen tightly packed in a small cart pulled by a single horse.
A ride such as this is definitely unsafe, as the overloaded cart could break and the
children could fall off anytime.
Number 7: The Zip Line, Colombia For a few people living in a small village
40 miles southeast of Colombia's capital Bogota, a set of steel cables 1300 feet above the
ground is the only thing connecting them to the outside world.
Every morning kids and farmers would have to attach themselves to the cable's old and
rusted pully system, and throw themselves over an abyss.
The journey brings them plummeting at a speed of 40 miles per hour over the roaring Rio
Negro river, before arriving at the opposite side of the valley half a mile away.
Two centuries ago, German explorer Alexander von Humboldt was the first European to observe
and describe the unique way of travel.
Back then, they were made of hemp.
But with the advent of modern technology and the clearing of trees, the system has somewhat
improved to using steel cables.
Kids use the dangerous transport system to get to school, while farmers use them to carry
goods to and from the nearest town.
Kids who are too small to safely ride across on their own would be placed in a jute bag,
with another older kid travelling together to control the speed with a wooden fork.
Parents teach their children to ride the zip line at an early age, as their future well-beings
depend on it.
Accidents do happen from time to time.
Bones are broken upon impact when the villagers fail to slow down.
The cables have also been sabotaged by the military and armed rebel guerrillas hiding
in Colombia's jungles.
When rain falls down, the wires get too slippery, making the journey across impossible.
Number 6: The Wire Bridge, Dhaing Village, Nepal
In order to get a proper education, the children of Nepal's Dhaing Village have to risk their
lives each day by crossing a hazardous wire bridge over Trishuli River.
The crossing is the only lifeline for the villagers, as they need to reach the other
side of the treacherous river to reach their work place, buy goods, and meet friends and
relatives.
The Benighat district of Nepal houses many such cable ropeways and wire bridges strung
across Trishuli River.
Villagers are required to cross directly without aid, or sit in a basic loop of fabric or a
small slated wooden case and slowly operate the wobbly wire by hand.
The country's low income and rough terrain results in poor infrastructure in such villages,
as building bridges and roads is both expensive and challenging.
Accidents happen often, and many people have lost fingers crossing the cables.
In 2010, a cable snapped causing five crossers to fall to their deaths into the roaring river
below.
In early 2016, the Nepali Prime Minister announced plans for suspension bridges to be built in
the area to replace the hazardous cable crossings.
Only one bridge has been built so far, and many locals still prefer to take the shorter
but perilous wire crossings.
Number 5: The Damaged Suspension Bridges of Lebak & Padang, Indonesia
In Indonesia's Lebak district, crossing a suspension bridge is the only means for children
to get to school.
While that may not sound bad, note that the bridge is severely damaged.
A pillar on one side has collapsed completely, and what's left of the bridge’s planks dangles
dangerously.
At a glance, it looks more like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.
This however, did not stop locals from using it.
The hazardous remains of the suspension bridge continued to serve as a means of daily commute
for school children and working adults.
When the area floods, the bouncing structure comes close to being swept away by the currents,
and crossing it is potentially fatal.
Villagers mention that parts of the wooden structure disappears from time to time, proving
its instability.
The other nearest crossing is half an hour's walk away, and many would rather cross the
risky bridge than wasting time.
Luckily for them, Indonesia's largest steel producer took pity after seeing their widely
circulated photos, and helped build a much safer bridge.
Similarly, Indonesian children in Batu Busuk Village, Padang, have to tightrope walk 30
feet above a river to get to school.
The hanging ropes are the remains of a damaged suspension bridge that collapsed from heavy
rain, and the local children have been forced to do the balancing act ever since.
They would then have to proceed to walk another 7 miles through a thick forest to reach their
classes on time.
Number 4: The Mountain Hike in Gulu Village, China
Gulu is an isolated village located in the deep canyons of a national geopark in China's
Sichuan Province.
Very few outsiders know about the place due to its remoteness, and the steep cliffs that
hang around it.
For the local children looking for an education, there is only one school available for them.
But the school is unlike any other in China, or on the planet, as it is located halfway
up a cliff, hidden in the clouds.
The children of Gulu village have to go through a treacherous trek uphill for 5 hours just
to reach it.
The climb involves many twists, turns, and bends, including walking along a narrow path
that's barely one foot wide while clinging along a vertical wall.
A slight mistake here would definitely mean death.
Despite the intense eagerness of the children to learn, most of them lack the means to reach
a higher education.
For the past two decades, only two former students have gone to university.
Volunteers have helped renovate the school and provide the students with uniforms, and
learning continues for the children of Gulu despite its difficulties.
Number 3: Tire Rafting, the Rizal Province, Philippines
Several children in a rural village in the Rizal province of Philippines have adopted
an unusual way of crossing a river to get to school.
They have no bridge to cross, or any boats and rafts to use, and a regular hike would
have them waste over an hour each day on walking.
Their solution is to use an inflated tire tube to get across the river.
Still, the journey is not easy, and the students would have to use their hands and feet to
paddle themselves across.
Staying completely dry is almost impossible, and the kids usually arrive at class soaking
wet.
The currents are sometimes unstable, and dangerously rapid.
When the river rises from bad weather, some must stay home, or if they’re already at
the other side, stay at a friend's or relative's before going home.
Villagers have been petitioning the local government to at least get a hanging bridge
built to make the cross faster and safer for the children.
Poor educational access is still a problem in many of the country's rural areas, although
school enrollment remains relatively high.
Number 2: Wooden Ladders, Zhang Jiawan Village, China
Deep in the Badagong Mountains of China's Hunan Province lies the remote village of
Zhang Jiawan.
Located high in the mountains, the small village of around 100 residents is almost completely
cut off from the outside world, and is surrounded by sheer drops on all sides.
The only safe way out of the place is a four hour long trek, something that the children
have no time for if they want to arrive at school on time.
Thus, their only option is a series of rickety looking ladders all the way down to the valley
below, where their school is located.
Parents have no choice but to allow their kids to undergo the demanding daily descent.
So when youngsters reach the age of five, the first thing their parents do is teach
them how to safely clamber down the ladders while balancing their school bags.
Members of the community have made pleas for a safe road to be built to provide the pupils
with a safer means of travel.
However, government officials have ignored the demands as they consider the costly expenses
as too high for such a small community.
A local official reportedly joked that buying a helicopter for each villager would be cheaper.
Number 1: The Snowy Mountainous Trek in the Indian Himalayas
High in the Himalayas, lies Zanskar, a region where people live remotely in small scattered
villages.
The communities have developed their own system of arable agriculture and livestock, and live
rather self-sufficiently.
But for the young ones seeking an education, they must go out on a long and daunting journey
to a boarding school that would take days to reach.
Every time the holiday seasons are over, the trip must be taken.
A father would have to guide his children through cold temperatures and make their way
by foot along the one hundred kilometer journey.
The path they take involves crossing a frozen river that may or may not be strong enough
to hold their weights.
If it gets too sunny, the river could melt, and the travelers must be aware of occasional
avalanches.
If something goes wrong, the Zanskaris are on their own until the weather could get clear
enough for the Indian military to possibly send a rescue helicopter.
Even then, the travelers would have usually remained stuck for days.