AMERICA/MEXICO - Tarahumara children sleep in schools so they are not forced to walk five hours

Chihuahua (Agenzia Fides) - Hundreds of children of ethnic Tarahumara (population living in the present territory of Mexican Chihuahua) sleep in their schools to avoid being forced to walk three to five hours each day to reach them, risking not get to lessons on time or to be too tired to follow lessons. Primary and secondary schools in fact are in the larger villages, while the indigenous Tarahumara communities are very isolated, many kilometers away from inhabited centers. For this reason, the government has built housing in schools where children can sleep from Monday to Friday; at weekends they go with their parents to their homes and communities. During this school year, the Indigenous Education system in Chihuahua took care of more than 25,000 children, and young people, of whom about 800 live in hostels or in the Halls of Residence. In total there are 16 hostels in 12 municipalities in the mountainous areas. Here especially secondary school students are assisted with food and lodging. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 13/05/2015)