- Title: Floating school in Nigeria brings hope to waterside slum dwellers.
- Date: 1st March 2016
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (FEBRUARY 29, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF FLOATING SCHOOL/BOATS GOING PAST STUDENTS IN A BOAT GOING TO SCHOOL BOY ROWING A BOAT/STUDENTS IN A BOAT CLOSE UP OF WATER DRUMS VARIOUS OF STUDENTS ALIGHTING FROM A BOAT
- Embargoed: 16th March 2016 14:28
- Keywords: Floating School Slum Makoko Urban Living
- Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- City: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001473JEQF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Nicknamed the Venice of Lagos, Nigeria's Makoko slum is home to nearly 100,000 people. Residents, who are mostly fishermen, live on stilts in the lagoon and move between their houses by canoe.
This is how the children who attend the Makoko floating school arrive for their classes every day.
The school was constructed by a young Nigerian architect who was inspired by the need to chart a new path for people who live in water communities.
The movable building is a pyramid structure with the capacity to safely support 100 students and teachers even in extreme weather conditions.
Shemede Noah is the director of the Floating School.
"I'm very happy about it because in the whole community, we only built on pile and steel. Nobody experienced floating school, floating structure because by the time they started building the school and everybody were saying that it's unbelievable, we can't wait to see it, it can't happen," he said.
The project which was started in 2012 was officially opened in November 2015. 47 students currently study here.
The Floating School offers free education but receives funding from donors. It is an extension of the only English speaking school in Makoko.
"I like the school because school is better thing, school is better thing and this, I have never seen a school floating on water before, this is the only one that I've seen that is why I forced my parents to take me to this school. I like the school, that is it," said Omodobu Emmanuel, an 11-year-old student.
"I like it because it's built on water and cordial environment to learning and clapping and jumping and singing," 12-year-old, Elizabeth Ahhaneezun said.
Makoko was designated for demolition in 2013 which would have left many homeless. Most residents in the slum are migrants from other countries in West Africa trying to make a living in Nigeria.
With its unique architecture, the Floating School has brought global attention to the plight of Makoko's residents.
Built with recycled empty plastic barrels, locally sourced bamboo and wood procured from a sawmill, the school's triangular frame can adapt to changing tides and water levels making it better suited to survive floods and storms.
Now, the local government says it wants to incorporate the Floating School's design into its own urban planning.
"During October to November, the water level in the community do rise very well and do affect the existing structure; I mean in the old school because the old school was built on a reclaimed land but this was built on floating barrels which whenever the water level rises, it rises and whenever the water level goes down, it goes down," Noah added.
Majority of Lagosians live in what are effectively slums with no reliable electricity or water. Projects like Makoko's Floating School are helping to address some of the growing challenges of climate change and urbanisation that people here face. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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