Blogger raises money for a boat for children who swam to school

Dozens of dirt-poor children in a Philippines mangrove village no longer have to swim to school while straining to hold their books above the water. A blogger who learned how children from Layag-layag village struggled to reach school, raised money through Facebook to provide boats to the community in the southern Philippines. A bright-yellow, donated motorboat carried Layag-layag children to their elementary school off bustling Zamboanga city Monday as the country's 26 million students returned to school after a two-month break. The new school year refocuses the nation's attention to the ills of its educational system  congested classrooms, dilapidated buildings and a huge number of dropouts due to poverty. But school opened with a piece of good news for the village, whose youngsters for years had to swim and wade through about a mile of mostly chest-deep water and cross sandbars to reach school. Teacher Racquel Bangayan said the children arrived in her class with their clothes dripping wet in the past when they could not hitch a ride on fishing boats. Many often came late but a few excelled in school. From / Gulf News