A young boy was photographed sitting outside of his closed elementary school because his family can’t afford WiFi.
9-year-old Jonathan Endecott from New Mexico was forced to walk to his closed elementary school every day as it was the only way for him to participate in online classes.
His mother, Angel Endecott, described him as ‘very independent’ and said that his son started walking to his school last year.
But because of the coronavirus pandemic, schools had to shut down temporarily to prevent the spread of the virus.
Many schools are conducting lessons online and for families who don’t have access to the internet, taking part in remote classes can be difficult.
In an interview with CNN, the mother said: “He was like, ‘Yeah, I need to be back on the school property, and I could be like a normal kid again.’
“Him just being outside of the building gives him that, ‘Hey, I’m at school’ feeling even though he’s not around other classmates or teachers.”
She continued: “The principal, the secretary and a few teachers, they do come outside to check up on him and see if he needs anything.”
But for one teacher, seeing the student every day touched her heart so she decided to take a photo of him and share it online.
Sabrina Talbott Harbour wrote: “This young boy has no internet at his home. He has been getting up and walking to school every day to connect to the school WiFi from outside the school. He sits there every day from 8:00-2:45.”
The photo has sparked a fundraising campaign to help Jonathan’s family with their finances. One person even offered to pay for their internet for the whole year.
“I can’t express enough my thanks for the help the community has already given us with our internet,” Angel expressed. “We will also Glady [sic] take donations like materials for the bathroom or anything anyone would like to help with.”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!
Replaced!