Floating School Built In Makoko.

A three-storey floating school will soon be used in Makoko, a poverty stricken community on the flooded coastline of Lagos.

The new primary school in the Lagos slum is built on a foundation of 256 plastic drums. Powered by solar panels on the roof, it will be able to accommodate more than 100 students. The building features an open recreational space on the first floor and a number of classrooms on the floors above.

Makoko is home to nearly 100,000 residents, who struggle to make their living by fishing.
Nigerian architect Kunle Adeyemi, who was raised in Lagos, Africa’s largest city, designed the floating building. He said that the school is part of a plan that he has envisioned for the community’s future.

Residents of Makoko, which means “fishing village”, have dealt with the encroaching waters by building their houses on stilts for generations. But Mr Adeyemi has a new plan for residents.

Instead of all houses being on stilts, he wants to offer to build floating homes in Makoko as well. Water pollution and other environmental issues have resulted in a high death rate in the community.

Every home of the community has around four children and most drop out of school at an early age. But Anthony Abraham, a school teacher in the community, hopes the new school will mean more children get to finish their education. “Their parents don’t have much power to help them to become a graduate,” he said.

More than seven million children in Nigeria are deprived of the chance to receive education due to poverty, according to the Nigerian Ministry of Education...