Getting to School...and Home Again

I meant to write this post earlier in my stay here when the newness of the transportation systems was still shocking and appalling to me, but since it will still be new for most of you reading my blog, I think it’s still relevant!

Growing up as I did in Small Town, USA, there were only three possible ways for kids to get to and from school.  Kids either walked, took the bus, or were dropped off and picked up by their parents in a vehicle.  The same methods are used here in Tegucigalpa.  So, what’s the big deal? 

Well, the kids who walk most definitely do NOT walk alone.  Because it’s so dangerous here, the parents walk their children to/from school.  This can be a lot of walking for their parents who may walk more than a mile each way under the blazing hot sun and along dusty roads! To make it worse, the students (or their parents) have to tote very heavy backpacks full of their textbooks because there is no safe place to leave them at the school. 

Lest you think the kids might ride to school in those big, yellow school buses, think again!  The students at Jubilee School use just one school bus which is probably supposed to be a 15 passenger van, but I’m pretty sure we fit in at least 25 kids!  And, the ride isn't free; this service is akin to a city bus, and the families have to pay for the service. The big, yellow school buses we see here are converted to city buses, some still bearing the name of their alma mater back in the USA.  

Lastly, those kids getting dropped off and picked up by their parents in a vehicle?  Well, they are definitely not seat-belted into the back seat of a car with a child safety seat!  They might be crammed into the back of a car sitting on the lap of an adult, or they may ride in the back of a pick-up truck.  What I find most appalling, however, are the kids who arrive to school on the back of a motorbike, usually without a helmet on.  And, I don’t mean just one kid on the back of a bike holding tightly to his dad. There may be up to three kids with an adult on a bike with the kids barely holding onto anything as

they bump along dirt roads and over speed bumps which are way too plentiful around here.  Oh, and did I mention that they also have to tote their over-loaded backpacks and lunch bags with them on the motorbike?  And, that is not the worst that I've seen.  I have seen entire families precariously seated on a motorbike. Dad at the controls, navigates between the sketchily divided lanes of horn-honking traffic or along the non-existing shoulder while Mom holds the baby, and two other kids hold on as best as they can.  YIKES!  There is a helmet law here, but, of course, that doesn’t mean it is followed, especially by children.  Motorbikes are very plentiful here because they are cheaper than cars or trucks (I have yet to spot a mini-van, by the way), and they can slip in and out of the crazy traffic easily—but not safely!  Thankfully I have yet to see one, but I hear that accidents are plentiful.

One last means of transportation here in Tegus: moto-taxis!

This is somewhat unrelated, but motorbikes are also pivotal for the many, many people involved in violent, gang-related activities because they allow their rider to get away quickly.  Nice thought, right?  Well, it’s a reality.  If you want to know more on that topic, I suggest clicking on the link below and reading the very true-to-life article!  It tells it like it is!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-the-worlds-deadliest-country-honduras/2/