My Dangerous Journey To School

I, Naia jad, live in the mountains in Pili, China. I am only twelve years old and everyday I walk to school on the side of a slippery, rocky mountain with a few other students from my school and about two adults. I just have to say that I’m not the luckiest child in the world. My parents are poor so that meant the only house they could afford was at the top of a mountain in Pili.

I was terrified the first time I walked to school. My mother told me to walk to the closest house to me and that the lady and child there would walk me to school for the time being. That day was horrible. I didn’t realise how dangerous it would be. We were walking on the side of a mountain. It was slippery, dusty and super high up. If anyone was to lose grip they would fall and that would be the end of them. 

After a few weeks I was finally getting used to it. Adults were there to help us over the rocks and around the steep places. I was one of the eldest children that walked around the mountain. It took us six hours each way everyday. I would have to get up at three in the morning so that I was not going to be late for school. I got home at around nine at night every single day. 

My mother and father would stay home everyday and look after my two little sister and my four little brothers. After school I would only have a small snack so that everyone else would get to eat as well. Life was hard living on a mountain. On the weekends I would sleep off all the walking and rest up so that I was ready to go walking on Monday. Luckily there had only been two people to fall off the edge of the mountain.

I know it doesn’t sound that nice but it was lucky that only two people had died over the last seven years. It was so sad though because the first one to fall was the girl that I had walked with on the first day of school. Her mother still walked every day in hope of finding her body but it never happened. The second person to die was one of the adults standing on the side helping kids across when someone stumbled and he got a fright, lost his balance and fell. 

I have to say goodbye to my family thoroughly each day in case my life is taken. It takes me ages to get my head around the fact that I might not come home on the weekends or ever, that i might not get to see my siblings grow up or my parents on their birthdays. I hope everyday that maybe just maybe I will come home and everything will have changed. We would be a wealthy family and have a house somewhere that had easy access to a school shops and places where my mum or dad could work. 

I know a lot of normal children in different countries can jump in their comfortable car and drive to school within five minutes but I hope one day that’s what I will be able to do. Even though I walk for twelve hours everyday I’m still lucky to have an education and be able to learn so that maybe one day I can get a job and earn money for my family. I wish I was like one of the wealthy kids with cars and a nice house. I’m Naia Jad and that's how i get to school everyday.

By Ella