Abdul Mallik teaches 5th grade in a village school in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Every day for twenty years, he gets to the school by wading through a river, with water coming up to his neck. He holds his bag above him, and changes into dry clothes once he reaches the other side.
"If I go by bus, it takes me three hours to cover the 12-kilometre distance, but swimming through the river is easier, faster and I reach school on time," he says, after he emerges from the river 15 minutes later.
Students are inspired by Mallik's dedication. The experience has made the teacher a staunch environmentalist, and he impresses upon his students the importance of saving the river and the polluted waterways of India. Link -via Arbroath