Story By: Pol F, Sub-Editor: Joe Golder, Agency: Newsflash
A 13-year-old boy from a remote rural region in Argentina has had to risk his life climbing a windmill to get wifi access to send his homework to his teacher.
A picture of student Gualterio Canezza caught public attention after he had to climb a windmill to get wifi access to send homework to his teacher during COVID-19 lockdown on 19th November.
Authorities in the rural village of Jubileo in the north-eastern Argentine province of Entre Rios have now gone out of their way to ensure the student has internet access after his teacher shared the photo of the boy trying to connect to the 3G and 4G antennas.
The student spent every day climbing up and down the windmill to be able to connect to WhatsApp and download the work his teachers sent him, then head up again to send them his answers.
The story came to light after his teacher Arturo Humberto Bahrich posted the image.
Mr Bahrich called the boy, who would normally be boarding at the school were it not for the pandemic, “a phenomenon”, adding that the 13-year-old “delivered all his homework in a timely manner”.
The teacher also asked an educational authority in Entre Rios or a communications company to intervene in the child’s situation.
Canezza lives with his parents who work as a rural labourer and a housewife at their home in the middle of the countryside.
The installation of antennas and equipment in the area costs around ARS 30,000 (GBP 281) with an additional ARS 1,500 (GBP 14) per month for the service, which the family can’t afford.
After a few hours an unknown official from the nearby city of Villaguay contacted the family and committed to negotiate with a telephone company to get them internet access.
The teacher is pleased with the result and said this “would be like a scholarship, an award for his effort because he really deserves it”, according to Infobae.
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