LAUGHTER echoes through the woods as they walk in a single file, each stride taking them one step closer to home.

Their faces are lined with smiles despite the weariness that can be detected in their eyes. Children of Veidrala Village, about 20 or so make their way home at the end of a long week of school.

Tired from the three-hour walk, there is a sudden burst of energy as the village comes into sight. They already can feel the love and warm embrace of family. Home also means food, and rest, and sleep.

At eight years, Sereima Sigarava has become accustomed to the rocky and hilly terrain that is used as the path to school.

A student at Mataso Primary School, her bag has exactly one school book, because she doesn’t need the burden of a heavy bag laden with books on the trek home.

Her mother, Meri Kabuta’s smile is wide when she sees her daughter because she knows she has but a short time with her before she leaves again.

“We have no homework today so my bag is empty and it’s easier too on our way home because we have to take food when we go back on Sunday,” young Sereima said.

Mrs Kabuta said on rainy days the children were provided raincoats and boots from the school for the trek home, but some opted not to use it altogether.

“Most times they take the walk without it because the boots are heavy and they don’t want it troubling their passage home,” she said.

“Most times their bags are empty when they come back but that’s only because it leaves space for when they return to pack their root crops to be consumed during the week while in school.

“Each child takes a week’s ration of root crops when they return.”

She added parents had become accustomed to the struggle and the painful experience of having to leave their children to go away to school for a week. They just have to trust that they are in good hands at the school hostel.

She has two daughters, aged 11 and eight, who attend Mataso Primary School.

“Sometimes when the sun is too hot I tell them to wait and go later but they know the rules, they have to be in school by 5pm on Sunday and they insist on travelling in the hot sun just to make it on time and that means leaving home at 1pm-2pm,” Mrs Kabuta said.

On this day that The Fiji Times team were at the village, Sereima could be seen among the happy faces of children happy to be home. She seemed excited to have time with her friends.

“We usually sleep late in the weekend because we don’t have school and we like to hang around with our friends and family from the village before we go back,” she said.

Just a couple of metres out from the village, there is a spring in her step. Her voice and that of the other children in her company instantly fills the village with greetings and of welcome.

They’ve walked a long and rough road. While most urbanites have the luxury of travelling in public transportation, the children showed a resilience that would leave many in awe.

Their eagerness and perseverance, despite the long road, showed the will and passion of children determined to do well, determined to finish school, knowing that getting educated was the first stage to securing a better future.