When I drive to work in the morning I go past a middle school and high school. The number of cars in a snake-like line flowing into the schools of our small community are staggering. Bike racks stand empty and crossing guards stare at their smart phones because so few students can be seen walking to school.
I recently read about a boy named James who grew up in Uganda running 9 miles one way to school every day. James is now 33 years old and I want to share with you his description of getting to school when he was only 7 years of age:
When I was 7, I'd get up by 5 a.m. to help gather the cows from the farm and to help my cousins with the milking as the early morning orange sun rose over the hills of my village of Kempungu. Then I'd drink a cup of milk and eat a baked sweet potato and head to school. This would be my only meal until the evening. Soon after my breakfast, at around 6:30 a.m., I would run 9 miles barefoot to school. And it wasn't a leisurely jog. I had to be there in time for the 8 a.m. bell and the hygiene check at 8:15. Latecomers got six strokes of the cane.
The path was unpaved and sometimes dangerous. Some days a snake would slither across my path or I might run into a hyena or wild dogs that could have rabies. With the stick I carried to protect myself, I killed several snakes on my way to school and scared away many dogs.
During the rainy season, from late September to late November or even early December, there was an additional obstacle. A big swampy creek about a mile from school flooded daily. I'd take off my school uniform and put it in my book bag to keep it dry. I'd swim with one hand while using the other hand to hold the bag on my head. If the water was too deep, I would ask an older cousin to carry me on his back.
But I didn't mind the long journey. Neither did my cousins and friends. Sure, the trek was challenging, but school was a haven for us. I was always glad to arrive. It was the one place where I felt like a kid. I didn't have to do the unending chores of fetching water or firewood or cutting grass to thatch a roof. And I didn't have to worry about — and care for — my sick relatives, like the uncle dying of AIDS.
School usually let out at 4:30, and the journey home was more relaxed than the morning commute. We took our time and enjoyed it, splashing water at each other. It was our own refreshment after a long day at school.That's 18 miles roundtrip (on foot!) to school each day. I thought about that and realized that many school children in America who live even within a 1/2 mile of school don't walk or bike. Instead, their parents drive them -- some out of concern for child safety in a world where crimes are headline news every day. It's a sad fact that in the 1960's fifty percent of American children walked or biked to school, compared to only about thirteen percent today.
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
_______________________________________
Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
