If your kids have ever complained about having to walk to school, show them this video and they’ll quickly realize that the trip could be much worse.
This is the shocking moment Fijian children are forced to swim across a raging river to get to class.
In the video Shared on Facebook, groups of young people dressed in their school uniforms have no choice but to immerse themselves in the rapidly flowing water to reach the other side.
The clip was filmed on Fiji’s main island, Vita Levi, in the Sigatoka Valley on the Wainiagwai Stream, which flows down to meet the Wainimala River.
It comes after the bridge, normally located further down the river, was washed away by floods.
This is the shocking moment children in Fiji are forced to swim across a raging river to get to class.
A flood warning is currently in place for low-lying, flood-prone areas adjacent to and downstream of the Wainibuka, Wainimala, Waidina and Rewa rivers.
Two days ago, Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office reported that the water level in the Wainbuka River was 3.77m above the warning level and rising steadily.
The astonishing video was posted yesterday by Fijian political commentator Kai Viti and has flooded comments about the children’s well-being.
One user wrote: “I mean, it makes us brave, but not all kids can swim in such strong currents.”
A second added: ‘It’s very, very sad. Our children have to take many risks. The responsible authorities open their eyes. ‘Poor boys’.
Meanwhile, a third explained: ‘The children are filmed at the top of the stream where it is safer for them to swim across.
‘On a day without rain we can cross this river or stream to go to town.
“Even a Toyota Prius can cross this creek on a normal sunny day, where the bridge once stood.”
The clip was filmed in the Wainiagwai Stream, which flows down to meet the Wainimala River in central Fiji.
The shocking video was posted yesterday by Fijian political commentator Kai Viti and has flooded comments about the children’s well-being.
A flood warning is currently in place for low-lying, flood-prone areas adjacent to and downstream of the Wainibuka, Wainimala, Waidina and Rewa rivers.
Robert Kennedy, born in Fiji, commented: “50 years of successive governments and children still have to take control of their lives just to receive an education.”
However, when it rains, which is common in Fiji, scenarios like this are not unique.
Robert Kennedy, 53, a Fijian-born fashion designer who shared the video on his own Facebook page, added:
‘I live in Sigatoka, on Fiji’s Coral Coast, and I am committed to pushing the government to act on this.
‘It’s incredible that today children in relatively remote areas, just above the Sigatoka Valley in Fiji, still have to cross rivers like this to get to and from school.
“50 years of successive governments and children still have to take control of their lives just to be educated.”
Her stepsister, Julie, has a charity in Fiji called Fiji Kids Learning for Life; The couple says they are shocked by this situation that has been happening in the Sigatoka Valley for the past 14 years.
They have been doing charity work to support children and their education.
This is not the only area of Fiji facing this problem – news website Fiji village reported a similar case in Mataso, Ra, where families from Camocamo and Navunavu settlements are calling on the government to provide urgent assistance.
Children attending Bayly Memorial School and Mataso Primary School have been filmed using a piece of bamboo to cross a river.
People are asking the government to raise the bridge or provide daily boats for children to use.
The outlet sent questions to Public Works Minister Ro Filipe Tuisawau, Rural Development and Disaster Management Minister Sakeasi Ditoka and Education Minister Viliame Gavoka, who have not yet responded.