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For some Gaza kids, a donkey cart is the only way to class

3 Mar 2023 - 11:00

The crowded, potholed and often polluted streets of Gaza are tough – especially for children trying to get to school, Reuters reports.


Each morning, the 33-year-old Palestinian whistles three times to summon his passengers, most of them pre-schoolers, from their homes in Khan Younis refugee camp. Sometimes as many as 15 children clamber aboard.
The earnings are meagre. But Abu Sahloul, who says being a donkey driver is the only employment available to him due to a neurological condition, sees the work as a social service.
"These families are in difficult financial conditions. The whole situation in Gaza is poor," Abu Sahloul said. He charges five shekels ($1.3) per month for each child.
School buses, by contrast, cost at least 40 shekels a month.
The donkey cart can be hazardous, however. Children are exposed to the elements and have, at times, tumbled off.
"I can't afford to send my son on a bus. My heart breaks each time I see him and the other children on the cart," said Intissar Al-Araj, one of the parents who use Abu Sahloul's service.
"Once he fell off the cart and injured his leg. I pray to God that my kids will be able to take a bus," she said.


Story Code: 585899

News Link :
https://www.taghribnews.com/en/news/585899/for-some-gaza-kids-a-donkey-cart-is-the-only-way-to-class

Taghribnews (TNA)
  https://www.taghribnews.com