The Most Dangerous Ways to School

The children from Madibago in the southern Philippines have one of the most spectacular and dangerous ways to school in the world. Some walk alone through the jungle for hours, others risk their lives, in order to make it past a steep face of rock and boulders, overgrown with moss and tree roots. The weather can change suddenly in the Philippines. Thanks to the high humidity, short, heavy rain showers tend to be the rule – even in the dry season. And for Aible this means even greater danger on her way to and from school. The roots, the rocks, the soil – all becomes even more slippery than usual. But that doesn’t keep the children from chasing their dreams.

The Yungas Valley in Bolivia: a unique landscape, where the Andes Mountains meet the Amazon Rain Forest. In this remote section of one of the poorest countries in South America, children have a very long and incredible dangerous walk to school ahead of them. All for one goal: education – for a better life. All this is more than just a walk to school – It is a test in the vast jungle. Throughout this journey they all have only one goal in mind: to ultimately find a job in a city and lead a better life.

In northern Colombia, the landscape is marked by water and seemingly endless expanses. Every day, the children who live there face this rough, unpredictable wilderness – with just one goal in mind: making it to school. Because this is their chance to break out of poverty and create a better life. Like the ten year old Kendys and the other schoolchildren. For this, they subject themselves to a daily dose of danger. Some of them must cross a ramshackle bridge that could collapse at any moment. Like the ten year old Kendys and some other schoolchildren. One false step and they could drown or break their legs. The children face all this under tough conditions. The temperature is already 34 degrees Celsius in the morning, with humidity at 97 percent. In order to get closer to their wishes and dreams, each day these children carry not only a backpack, but also the fear – on one of the world’s most dangerous ways to school.