Teacher carried student for entire camping trip so the youngster wouldn't miss out

This teacher went above and beyond her call of duty and we're in awe of her. 

Ms Helma Wardenaar is a teacher at The Academy for Global Citizenship in Chicago, Illinois. She adores her children, and was understandably upset when one of her pupils was unable to go on a class camping trip.

10-year-old Maggie Vasquez has cerebral palsy and needs the help of a walker to get around. 

Unfortunately, Maggie's walker wouldn't be able to handle the terrain and the trip involved a 45 minute hike as well as a number of walks throughout the three days. 

Not wanting to leave one of her pupils behind, Helma decided that she would carry the 10-year-old for the duration. 

Helma looked into the option of hiring a pony but then she came across a child carrier. 

For $300 the carrier would enable the teacher to carry Maggie, something that made the 10-year-old's day. 

"When I showed it to Maggie her eyes became really big!" Helma told People. "She was like, ‘Ms. Helma! You found something?’ I showed it to her in the classroom so everybody saw and they were like, ‘Yay! Maggie can do this!’”

 

Last week, Ms. Helma and Maggie took a hike, and the internet is freaking out about it. For Ms. Helma, there was no question. Maggie, who uses a walker, was going to experience all of the wonder of the annual class camping trip, including the 45-minute hike. "Together, we always find a solution." Read more about the hike on CBS, ABC, and Good Morning America. (Link in bio.) We are so proud of these tenacious Global Citizens! We are thrilled that Helma and Maggie's story is spreading as a hopeful counterpoint to so much fear and sadness in the news. #inclusiveeducation #naturebasedlearning #everythingispossible

A post shared by Academy for Global Citizenship (@globalchicago) on Jun 8, 2018 at 5:53am PDT

Helma carried Maggie on that 45 minute hike and for two hours a day, and the young girl didn't have to miss out on anything.

Inspired by Helma's incredible gesture, a GoFundMe page was set up to help raise money for equipment that would help other pupils like Maggie. 

Well done to Helma – what an incredible thing to do.