SCHOOL Matters

"When can I go back to school?"

That's the first question many children across Latin America start their day with. For millions in the region, there's often no guarantee that their school will be open, accessible, or safe that day.
Classrooms caught in crossfire, hours-long walks to the nearest school, and buildings destroyed by natural disasters are just some of the obstacles children face. On top of that, extreme poverty and displacement force many to drop out.
Working with Plan International Chris de Bode visited some of the most disadvantaged communities in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia that are taking part in the Safer Schools project.
Even when school is out of reach, children have an innate desire to learn. They turn bedrooms into study spaces, long walks into daily routines, and ruins into classrooms. Whether it's sharing textbooks with friends, scraping together coins for a school uniform, or leaving their homes to live in remote boarding schools, their determination propels them on to find ways to keep learning.
In these portraits, Chris captures how children and their communities, even in the face of conflict, disaster or poverty, hold on to education. The series highlights children's unwavering drive to learn.
Plan International's Safer Schools project includes catch-up classes to bridge learning gaps, financial support for children at risk of dropping out, awareness sessions for parents, and physical changes to make schools safer, such as reinforced construction, evacuation drills and training for teachers.

The project is supported by the European Union