The Flamboyant of Eastern Zagori, is a beautiful stone-built village at an altitude of 1000 meters, 36 kilometers NW of Metsovo, spread among beech and black pine forests. In this idyllic environment, Mr 14 year old Alexandros lives a difficult daily life in the winter, making a “journey” every day – often under adverse conditions – in order to go to his school, 56 kilometers away.

There are 22 residents living in Flambourari and Alexandros is the only child in the village. His life is not like that of his classmates in urban centers, towns or capital villages. He is a special, special case of a student, who gives a daily struggle.

Every dawn, in the cold and the frost several times in the winter, the 14-year-old student opens the door of his house and goes out to her sycamore tree square. The clock shows 06:45. There, the little one is waiting for him bus and the daily morning commute to school begins. After 56 kilometers, it will reach the Chrysovitsa High School Metsovo. Most of the way, it is not easy. The road is narrow and with turns.

On the days with heavy frosts, the lesson will be done online, as the road is dangerous in the evening hours, says his mother, Maria Varsani, while his father, Christos Vlachiotis, points out that the anguish of the family for the child is daily, due to the poor road network and difficult winter conditions.

“The road is dangerous, narrow with turns, without guards, with worn asphalt. There has been no intervention since it was created by the Papadopoulos junta,” he says characteristically.

On the way to High schoolthe school will pass by five villages to get 7 more students.

The lesson at school ends at 14:10. The return journey begins and Alexander arrives home at 3:30 p.m. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, he must immediately get ready to go down to Ioannina for the tutorial English.

The power of the soul and the dream of becoming a teacher

Alexandros is a student of the 3rd High School. It is his will to learn that arms his young soul with endurance.

“I want to be a teacher. I admired my teachers in elementary school. I want to impart knowledge and teach the lesson, with love, respect and understanding. To go to remote villages, to offer what my teachers gave to me.” These are the words of Alexandros to APE-MPE.

“It’s hard, but I’m trying”, says. “I’m coming home late. I have to read, catch up on everything. I sleep early 9 at night. I’ve been used to it for so many years, since kindergarten. This is my life here.”

The conversation with him reveals a child who is happy with the little he has in the village. His mother will tell us that in his little free time, he deals with his computer or a playstation that he bought himself with the money he collected from singing carols. Sometimes, he can go out into the square, play with the ball or the dry leaves from the plane trees.

Alexander is looking forward to it Weekends, not because it won’t have a school, but because a family from Ioannina with two children is moving up to the village. It’s his friends, the game, the company who is in need.

“It wouldn’t be bad to be in Ioannina going out with classmates. But what can we do;” he says with youthful spontaneity.

The 14-year-old’s parents never left their village. They work there, so they can stay in their place.