Dawn has just broken in Ekin, a village in the Belu District, East Nusa Tenggara. The fiery sun has climbed over the horizon and ten-year-old Nurul is getting ready for school.
Every day she leaves home at six o’clock in the morning to walk almost two kilometres to Wekakeu Elementary School. But the distance over the gravel roads, often in bare feet, doesn’t bother her.
Nurul is one of eight children. She loves school, but most of all she loves the weekly reading camps and the fact that she can read books. Even better, she can take them home and read them by candlelight, as there is no power in her home.
Nurul is 10 and attends the weekly reading camps run by Save the Children. Before reading camp she could not read because there were no books. Through tears her father talks about the opportunities that she is getting.
“I believe that the children who go to school will have a better life, far from the daily struggle that comes with poverty and the need to feed your children.”
Nurul wants to stay at school and knows that to do well, she will need to work hard and study. “I like going to the reading camp. I like reading fairytales like Cinderella and Flying Carpet. I also like books about crafts and animals. I want to be a doctor, so I can help people.”
Nurul’s teacher, Miss Dahu emphasizes the need for these children to receive an education.