So you thought school bus fares were steep in Singapore? Spare a thought for these Spanish mums. They've had to take extreme measures to raise money for their kids' school bus.
The cause is Spain's economic woes. The fiscal belt tightening has forced municipalities across the nation to cut back on all kinds of basic services. With dipping employment rates and austerity measures in place, some women in rural Spain are finding alternative sources of funding to restore basic services. These mums have posed for an erotic calendar.
Fund-raising cause
The problem began with a new law by their local government to provide transport only to students who live more than 3km far from the school. There is a catch though. The distance has to be calculated in a straight line. This meant that ‘Evaristo Calayatud’ school in the Monserrat District of Valencia was no longer eligible for a school bus.
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Silvia Lucas, one of the mothers, points out, “Our kids have to scale a mountain and climb down a cliff to get to the school. On foot, using the most direct route it’s 4.5 km; if you walk on the road it’s six.” Sancho, a 41-year-old mother of three says, “There's no sidewalk and there are lots of trucks going fast. Even the main road is pretty dangerous for kids to be walking there.”
With parents unemployed they either don't have a car or are unable to pay for petrol to drive their children to school themselves. For this reason, and to try and raise 43,000 euros, the group of mothers got together, disrobed and posed for the erotic calendar.
Their battle
The women decided to pose on the same route that their children walked to school. The erotic calendar includes images of the lingerie clad Iberian moms with Spanish slogans such as, "Scale the mountains of Montserrat to go to school" and “No to the budget cuts!” It was definitely a 'slap on the face' of the officials who had cut their children's basic school transportation allowance.
It took just over a month after the launch of the erotic calendar to raise enough money for the affected kids’ bus to run for three months. At one point, the police ejected them from the town center for illegally selling the calendar. However, Lucas pointed out, “We were not selling them, we were collecting donations.”
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A sorry state
“A lot of people tell us that we could have organized a community meal and not the calendar, but that would not have made nearly enough money. Our husbands are happy with the result and proud of our achievement” added Lucas, saying that she has done this for her children.
A group of housewives from rural Spanish village had embarked on a similar effort in 2008. Seven middle-aged Spanish moms posed for a tongue-in-cheek erotic calendar as a fundraiser for their children's rural school. At first though it proved to be a big hit, later they were saddled with debt and 5,000 unwanted copies.
Strength of a woman
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Many people have frowned at the idea of an erotic calendar to raise funds as it’s a bad example for the children, especially young girls. Mums sacrifice everything for the sake of their child. They give up their careers and make lifestyle changes to give their kids a better life. It’s indeed a sorry state of affairs when mums have to resort to marketing their looks to finance basic school needs like bus transportation. We hope their local government takes a more sensible approach to the situation next year, otherwise the fathers might need to get in on the calendar act too!
Tell us here what you think about these mums’ plight.