In Huoi Hai, a remote village in northwestern Vietnam, around 50 children cross the Nam Ma River every day to get to school.
They normally do so on a bamboo raft that their parents push by hand. But during the rainy season, the current becomes so violent that the raft is no longer safe: recently, an adult was injured when one of them capsized.
Faced with this, the parents found an even more extreme alternative: they put their children inside large plastic bags, seal the opening, and swim them to the opposite bank, holding the bag with their own hands while the child remains completely sealed inside. Vang A Po, head of the Na Sang commune, acknowledged that he warned residents about the risk, but said the current can carry away even the rafts, so they have no other option. Nhuyen Minh Phu, head of Muong Cha district, clarified that the method should only be used as a last resort.
And crossing the river is not the end of the journey: once on the opposite bank, the children still walk for five hours over slippery terrain before reaching school, where they stay all week and return home only on weekends.