Traveling through Central and South America, it’s hard to miss kids walking to school. Some walk for miles even before the sun rises to make sure they arrive on time. In most of these countries, schools have separate morning and afternoon sessions in order to accommodate all the grade levels on limited resources that include small buildings, no budget to provide lunch and the lack of teachers. In the afternoon, the younger kids are going back home while the older students come to session. In remote areas the daily migration is even more common. School buses are limited or non-existent, so it’s not unusual to see seven year-old kids walking long ways along the roads or picking up a ride on public transportation.
But nothing more challenging than going to school by water. Yes, in many remote areas of Panama, I have encountered kids traveling by water in dugout canoes. This time I was in the southern range of the Bocas del Toro archipelago. For a moment you feel in another world as you are surrounded by emerald waters hugged by mangroves tall enough to touch the sky. As idyllic as it sounds it is a dangerous risk that many kids take on a daily basis. I can only assume that classes are dismissed if bad weather approaches, but then…how would they know when far from the reach of technology? For days I lived without the cellphone lifeline I’m so used to. I was so far away from civilization that any accident could have been devastating and venomous snakes are commonly seen along the forest floor here. The waters are also patrolled by sharks. In fact, I glanced at a hammerhead just a few minutes before snapping some pictures of three kids paddling their ancient dugout canoe to school. But despite all the dangers, students and teachers make the treacherous trip from and back to school.
But the students are not the only ones on a challenging trek. One day, while driving on the main land, I came across a teacher that was in need of a ride home. She teaches at a remote school that requires a one hour hike each way through a dirt road crossing three bridgeless rivers and up to two hours by bus to the city where she lives. Every day she makes this journey for the kids in this rural community of Panama composed mainly of indigenous people of the Ngöbe-Buglé tribe.
While the purpose of my trip was to document frogs, watching the kids paddling to school was an eye-opening experience that will last a lifetime. The pictures are just there to remind me of the things I take for granted and how easy life is on my corner of the world.
