That morning, in Misiones, Argentina, teacher Noelia Bairros stood still in the school doorway. It was 7:30 on a Monday in 2018, and the first frost of the year had just fallen. Everything was white, but what surprised her was what she saw in the middle of it. So she took out her phone and photographed him.
His name is Axel Yamil Antúnez, and he was 6 years old.
Axel had gotten up before dawn. With his backpack on, he had walked 3 kilometers, crossed two streams, and continued on foot across the plain to School No. 196 in Colonia Caa Guazú. There is no transportation in the area, so he walked there every day with his siblings.
And he wasn’t the only one. That day, she said, attendance was perfect. “Everyone came.”
Because the cold wasn’t the only challenge. In summer, the children walked those same 3 kilometers under the sun. They only missed school when it rained and the swollen streams made it impossible to cross them.
For thousands of people, it was an extraordinary photograph. For Axel, it was simply the everyday route he took to get an education.
But the image ended up changing much more than he could have imagined.
After it went viral, help began to arrive for Axel and his family. Months later, the young boy passed his grade with honors and was recognized by his school, while his family received help to move into a new house where they no longer had to worry about water coming in through the roof when it rained.
The support also extended to his school, which received improvements such as an internet connection, while an organization began giving the family money each month to help pay for Axel’s clothes, shoes, and school supplies.