Kids Risking Their Lives to Reach SchoolBy Kaushik Sunday , March 24 , 2013 News , People 5 commentsFor most parents and kids , crossing the street to catch the school bus is perhaps the riskiest part of the school run . But take a look at these Chinese schoolchildren from the village of Genguan . Everyday , these young kids walk along a precarious path carved by the side of a cliff , as they make their way to class in Bijie , in southwest China ' s Guizhou Province . Banpo Elementary School is located halfway up a mountain and the path to it winds through treacherous hillside passes and tunnels hewn out of the rock . The pebble - covered footpath is less than 0 . 5 meters wide , which means the children have to walk single file and press themselves into the side of the mountain if someone wants to squeeze past . This footpath was created 40 years ago as an irrigation ditch and although there is another safer route , but taking this means the children have to spend two hours to walk to school . The only assurance for parents is that Headmaster Xu Liangfan accompanies the 49 kids to school . The story might sound incredible to some , but it isn ’ t uncommon for children from less privileged regions facing immense hardship on their commute to the institute of learning . You will be surprised at the great lengths some children are willing to go to reach school . SourceIn Sumatra , Indonesia , about 20 strong - willed pupils from Batu Busuk village have to tightrope walk 30 feet above a flowing river to get to their class on time and then walk a further seven miles through the forest to their school in the town of Padang . The kids have been doing the balancing act for the last two years since the suspension bridge collapsed in heavy rain . SourceIn another Indonesian village of Sanghiang Tanjung , children living on the wrong side of of the Ciberang River has to cross a broken suspension bridge to reach the other side where their school is located . Faced with an extra 30 minutes ' walk to cross via an alternate bridge , the children have chosen to undertake the precarious crossing of the collapsed bridge instead . The good news is : Indonesia ’ s largest steel producer , PT Krakatau Steel and some NGOs build a new bridge to replace one that was damaged after flooding in January 2012 . SourceIn yet another Indonesian village , children cycle their way over an aqueduct that separates Suro Village and Plempungan Village in Java , Indonesia . The children decided to use the aqueduct on their journey to school as a shortcut , even though it wasn ' t made for people to walk on . Even though it is dangerous , the children say would rather use it than walk a distance over six kilometers . Source 1 , 2 In Filipino , elementary school students use an inflated tire tube to cross a river on their way to school in a remote village in Rizal province , east of the capital Manila . The students have to walk for at least an hour a day to get to and from school , and are sometimes forced to skip classes or take shelter at relatives ' homes if the river is swollen due to heavy rains . The community has been petitioning the local government to put up a suspension bridge in order to make the crossing easier , faster and safer . SourceThe Filipino kids at least have tubes . These Vietnamese students aren ’ t so fortunate . Dozens of young children from grade 1 to grade 5 swim twice a day across the river in order to get to school at Trong Hoa commune , Minh Hoa district . In order to keep the clothes and books from getting wet , the students put them in large plastic bags and tightly sealed while crossing the river almost naked . These plastics bags were also being used to keep them afloat while swimming across the river . Upon reaching the other side of the river , they take their clothes out of the bag and put them on . The river is 15 meters wide and reportedly 20 meters deep . Source 1 , 2 Gondola bridges are common in the mountainous country of Nepal where good roads are in short demand . Children use handcrafted bridges made with planks , improvised ropes and pulleys , without safety harnesses and double security restraint . For decades , this lack of security has caused numerous accidents . Fortunately , several NGOs are currently concerned with building safe bridges and gondolas to mitigate accidents . SourceIn Columbia , kids from a handful of families living in the rainforest , 40 miles southeast of the capital Bogota , commute via steel cables that connect one side of the valley to the other . This is the only way to reach school . The steel cables are 800 meters in length are strung 400 m above the roaring Rio Negro . Photographer Christoph Otto clicked this incredible picture of Daisy Mora and her brother Jamid , making their way at a breakneck speed of 50 miles per hour . She attaches the sack containing her brother , who is too young , at five , to make the crossing alone , and herself to a pulley . A branch in the shape of a wishbone forms a crude brake . The entire journey takes 60 seconds . SourceBack in China , around 80 school children who live in the boarding school at Pili , have to embark on a perilous 125 - mile journey through the mountains of the remote Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region , at the end of their term . The children must also wade through four freezing rivers , cross a 650 ft chain bridge and four single - plank bridges . The journey takes two days to complete . Source 1 , 2 Finally , here is one striking picture captured by Reuter photographer Ammar Awad in 2010 . During clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the refugee camp Shuafat , near Jerusalem , a girl is seen calmly walking towards her school unconcerned by the violence around her . The street is strewn with rocks thrown by protesters in the direction of the Israeli troop who can be seen behind the girl in protective shields . Reminds me of the famous Tank man on Tiananmen Square . SourceThese pictures puts into a different perspective the whining complains of students about “ having to go to school , ” not bringing pencils or paper , and not making it to class on time . Ed Darrell , who blogs at Millard Fillmore ' s Bathtub , questioned : What value does this girl and her family place on education ? Is education a civil right ? Is education a basic human right ?