Time for school

Time for school around the world

The end of summer marks the onset of school in the United States and the reappearance of bright yellow school buses, crossing guards and masses of schoolchildren carting backpacks and lunch bags.

In many countries where CFCA works, the school year is well underway. Going to school is an opportunity not widely available to students from poor families, so students will go to great lengths to get there.

Children in the Philippines ride as passengers on bicycles. Others take motored tricycles with plastic covers to protect them from the rain. Or, they

may ride to school in a type of bus called a jeepney. The streets are full of traffic and noise.

“The vehicles are so crowded that passengers may block the windshield, leaving a small space for the driver to peep through,” said Project Coordinator Malou Navio of CFCA’s Antipolo project.

In Medellin, Colombia, CFCA scholarship students Johan, Esteban, Flor and Nora ride to their college classes in the Metrocable, the city’s quiet, electric-powered cable-car system. With one ticket that costs less than a dollar, students can travel from their neighborhoods to almost anywhere in the city. The cars glide high above the streets and rooftops, giving passengers a panoramic view of this city wedged into the mountains.

The town of Los Apoyos, El Salvador, has no public transportation. Ten-year-old Mauricio and his classmates have to walk 45 minutes to reach their school in Las Lagunetas.

They walk up and down a mountain to reach a wood-slatted hanging bridge. The bridge shakes and creaks as they cross over the Lempa River, one of the longest rivers in Central America. On the other side, they trudge on unpaved, muddy roads to the other town.

If you are on the road in Timau, Kenya, at 8 a.m., you will see large groups of schoolchildren in uniform, many of them running. Alex and Benson are two freshmen who run to class at the Ngeria Secondary School.

“They may run as far as three miles, increasing their speed as they approach the school so they won’t be late,” Timau Project Coordinator Sister Joanne Gangloff said.

While students around the world travel to school differently, they are there for the same reason—to learn.

CFCA sponsorship helps families cover school-related expenses so children can go to school. Sponsorship helps families pay for transportation, school uniforms, fees, supplies, backpacks and, in many communities, students eat a hot lunch in a CFCA-supported dining hall.

Education can make a difference in a family’s future. One day, their education may help these students obtain a good-paying job so that they can help their families break the cycle of poverty.