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Frozen hair boy’s amazing determination to get to school goes viral

Right to education

Chinese boy Wang Fuman was pictured with icicles in his hair after walking for three miles in bitterly cold temperatures so he could take an exam.


A three-mile walk in freezing temperatures wasn’t going to stop eight-year-old Wang Fuman from getting to school to take an exam.

Wearing thin clothes, he battled for an hour in minus 9C to reach Zhuanshanbao Primary School in China.

By the time he got to the classroom, Wang’s hair had frozen into icicles. His eyebrows and eyelashes were frozen too, his cheeks were bright red and his hands swollen.

His head teacher Fu Heng took a picture of Wang arriving at class in Xinjie Town, Ludian County. He said: “It was the first day of their final exams. The temperatures dropped to minus 9 degrees Celsius in about 30 minutes that morning.”

The photo went viral when it was shared on Chinese social media and people have been commending the boy for his determination to get to school.

Many offered to send warm winter clothing to Wang, who comes from a poor rural family.

He said: “It is cold going to school but it’s not hard.”

Wang’s story is typical of the incredible resolve of many children around the world to go to school and learn. Read about some more of them here.

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