Children of a remote village were caught on camera crossing a fast-moving river while wrapped in plastic bags in order to reach their school and be able to study.
Huoi Ha is a secluded village located in the Dien Bien province in Vietnam. While the local children understand that education is the key to the improvement of their lives and the community, getting to their school presents a challenge of its own.
For the kids of Huoi Ha, reaching their school involves not only a long hike but also the crossing of a fast-paced river where no bridge yet stands.
In order to overcome the obstacle, the children are forced to get wrapped in large plastic bags before being dragged across the river.
As Vietnam-based agency Vov.Vn claimed, the children are afraid of crossing the river on one hand but excited on the other because they know they will be one step closer to their school once they are on the other side of the river.
“Now this stream is very dangerous, my relatives usually take the children by raft but now cannot use it. I hope that the state will invest in suspension bridges soon for people to travel more conveniently,” the head of the village, Mr. Vo A Giong, said amid the rainy season when floodwaters are too dangerous for the use of rafts to cross the river.
Agreeing that action is required to provide the kids with a safer alternative, Principal Nguyen Thi Thuy added:
“The flood rains have divided Huoi Ha village. From our school, there are more than 50 students in Huoi Ha village and so far, the teachers and parents have mobilized the children to attend classes the best they can.
“However, traveling is also difficult. We also hope that in the coming school years, there will be more investment from the state with more modern bridges to bring children to school in these rainy seasons.”
While crossing the river may seem like a big deal, this is just the start of these kids’ journey to the school. Following the voyage, the children are required to walk across 15 kilometers of muddy forest trails for five hours before reaching their school.
After the children’s story went viral, the Minister of Transport spoke out and stated:
“After receiving the press agencies’ feedback on the situation of students still in the village Huoi Ha having to carry plastic bags to cross Nam Chim flood stream to school due to lack of investment in transport infrastructure, the Ministry of Transport has instructed Vietnam Road Administration to coordinate with local authorities at all levels to check and consider this issue.”
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