The road to school for hundreds of children is not footsteps on flat roads, but a journey wading through the risky Xa Lo River.
The image of fathers and mothers carrying their children across the river every day not only makes viewers feel sorry, but also raises a big question about the responsibility of ensuring safety for children as well as people.
Just one heavy rain, the water becomes fierce, flowing swiftly. Just one slip, a whirlpool, the consequences may be irreparable.
The risk of drowning is always present, not in theory, but right in each school day.
For families with two or three young children, parents have to carry each child across the river, bring one child over and then return to pick up another child.
A repeated journey amidst the fast-flowing water, no one can rest assured when every day they have to "bet" on the safety of their children.
In the rainy and flood season, the situation is even more serious. River water rises, completely cutting off the road to school, and children are forced to take long days off school.
Learning is interrupted, leading to long-term consequences in terms of knowledge, psychology and development opportunities. The educational gap between difficult areas and favorable areas is therefore increasingly widening, not due to capacity, but due to access conditions.
Local authorities are not standing aside, many recommendations have been issued, requiring people not to wade across the river when dangerous.
But the recommendation cannot replace infrastructure. Going around for up to 20-30km, people have no choice but to accept the risk of crossing the river.
The core issue lies in transport infrastructure, a civil bridge not only helps people travel safely, but also opens up opportunities for economic, educational, and health development.
According to local calculations, if there is a bridge, the distance from Lang Trang to the commune center will be only about 3-4km, instead of having to go around dozens of kilometers.
Benefits are not only measured by time, but also by the safety and future of hundreds of children.
Son Thuy commune currently has nearly 1,500 households cut off by rivers. This is no longer a private story of a village or commune, but a regional development issue.
Investing in people's bridges in this case is not a priority, but an urgent matter. Every delay is an extra day for children to face danger.
Bridges not only connect the two banks of the river, but also connect opportunities. It is time for an investment decision to end the scene of carrying children across the river in Lang Trang.
