In an age where many school children are ferried to school in their parents’ SUV, the idea of having to swim to school over open ocean or wade through muddy mangrove swamps to get to class might seem part of a cruel and long-forgotten past. But in some of the fishing communities near Zamboanga City in the Philippines, swimming half a mile of open water in school uniform while carrying school books tied up in plastic bags on their heads is still a daily reality.
In an age where many school children are ferried to school in their parents’ SUV, the idea of having to swim to school over open ocean or wade through muddy mangrove swamps to get to class might seem part of a cruel and long-forgotten past. But in some of the fishing communities near Zamboanga City in the Philippines, swimming half a mile of open water in school uniform while carrying school books tied up in plastic bags on their heads is still a daily reality.
