At the crack of dawn, more than two dozen pupils from Waaikraal farms near Delmas in Mpumalanga are getting ready for a gruelling 10km to 22km walk to catch a bus to school.

The debilitating journey along a rutted gravel road takes the pupils into dark and dangerous farmland bushes which they must navigate on their own or hitch a hike from strangers to get to the bus stop on time...