Vietnamese Children Cross Raging River in Plastic Bags to Reach School
In a remote mountain village in Vietnam’s northern Dien Bien Province, going to school is a daily struggle that forces children to risk their lives just to receive an education.
In Huoi Ha village, home to about 75 families and roughly 500 people, children have no buses or safe roads to take them to school. During the rainy season, about 50 pupils must cross the swollen Nam Chim stream in a dangerous journey that has become a heartbreaking symbol of the challenges faced by the community.
During the dry season, villagers use bamboo rafts or small boats to ferry the children across the stream. But when heavy rains arrive and the water becomes a powerful torrent, the rafts can no longer be used safely. They can overturn or be swept away, and previous crossings have reportedly resulted in deaths.
Faced with no alternative, villagers developed a desperate method to get the children across. Each child is placed inside a large plastic bag, which is secured before an adult carries or pulls the bag through the rushing water.
The adult, familiar with the river and its currents, wades into the water—sometimes reaching neck depth—while holding the plastic bag and battling the strong current to reach the opposite bank.
Although the children are protected from getting soaked, the crossing remains extremely dangerous. Village leaders say the children are frightened, but their determination to attend school keeps them going.
Crossing the river, however, is only the beginning of their journey.
After reaching the other side, the children reportedly walk for about 15 kilometres through steep, muddy and slippery forest paths, a journey that can take up to five hours before they finally reach their school.
For some pupils, the journey does not end there. At weekends, some make the difficult trip back home and repeat the journey again when school resumes.
The community has reportedly appealed to authorities for years to construct a suspension bridge across the stream, which would provide the children with a safer route to school.
Following reports about their plight, local authorities were reportedly asked to examine the situation and consider measures to improve access and safety for the villagers.
For the children of Huoi Ha, education represents more than classroom learning. It is seen by the community as one of the few pathways out of poverty.
Their daily journey is a powerful reminder that while many children simply walk, cycle or take a bus to school, others must overcome extraordinary dangers for the same opportunity.
For these children, the road to education is not just difficult—it is a journey they risk their lives to make.
Vietnamese Children Cross Raging River in Plastic Bags to Reach School