CGTN America
The Voluntad De DIos school only has one vehicle, a pickup truck that does multiple 15 to 30 minute trips across both Venezuela and Colombia’s border. In a day, the car picks up more than 200 children who’s family doesn’t have the money or options to use public transportation to get to school. The driver must go over 60 kilometers per hour in the desert, to not slip on the sand.
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Dozens of children in western Venezuela begin their daily journey to school before 5 a.m. But this is no ordinary school – it is located across the border in Colombia.
They live in the Guajira peninsula, facing the Caribbean Sea, a region shared by Colombia and Venezuela. The area is also home to the Wayuu indigenous people, the largest indigenous group in both countries. The Wayuu face numerous challenges, but one of their main struggles is the lack of access to clean drinking water. Because of that, children die of malnutrition at a rate nearly six times the national average.
Despite the adverse conditions, the ‘Children of the Border’ have not lost hope and show their enthusiasm for learning and playing at school every day.
