´óÏó´«Ã½

Mus èirich a' chlann sa chamhanaich, tha an teothachd mar-thà os cionn trithead Celsius. Tha iad a' còmhnaidh ann am fàsach Danakil ann an ear-thuath Etìopia, faisg air beinn-theine beò anns an sgìre as teotha gu cuibheasach air thalamh.

Am measg a' chloinn tha Looita a tha sia agus a phiuthar Khadiga. Air an t-slighe dhan sgoil feumaidh a' chlann Afar coiseachd iomadh cilemeatair ann an teas iongantach, gun sgàil airson faochadh bhon ghrian agus tha uisge gann is daor. 'S tric a bhios an uspag as lugha a' fàs gu bhith na stoirm-ghainmhich, a' dalladh a' chloinn rè ùine agus a dèanamh sgùradh air an craicinn. Às dèidh na sgoile, feumaidh iad togail orra dhachaigh ann an teas do-chreidsinneach, nas teotha na caogad Celsius.

Feumaidh fiù 's a' chlann as òige cuideachadh le bhith a' cladhachadh thobraichean, fhad 's a bhios a' chlann as seana, leithid Mohammed, a tha ceithir bliadhna deug, ag obair sna mèinnean shalainn airson na teaghlaichean aca a chuideachadh. Tha a' chlann agus na h-inbhich an dòchas gun toir an sgoil cothrom dhaibh chan ann a-mhàin air tighinn beò ach air soirbheachadh san fhàsach chruaidh.

When the schoolchildren wake up to the first rays of sunshine, the temperature is already over 30 degrees Celsius. They live in the Danakil Desert in north east Ethiopia, near an active volcano, in a region that is the world’s hottest on average.

Among these children are six-year-old Looita and his sister Khadiga. Their route to school, which is many kilometres long, takes these children of the Afar through much more than just the astounding heat - not one shadow offers coolness and water is a rare and expensive commodity. Even if a breath of wind blows through the desert it most often quickly evolves into a sandstorm, the grains of which temporarily blind the children and whip at their skin.

After school they have to head home in unbelievable temperatures, beyond 50 degrees Celsius. Even the youngest schoolchildren have to help dig wells, while the older children – like 14-year-old Mohammed – work in the salt mines, to aid their family’s survival. The children as well as the adults do not give up hope that school will help them one day - not just to survive, but also to live well off the barren and inhospitable desert.