After a tumultuous storm in Lagos, Nigeria, the beloved Makoko Floating School (pictured) collapsed Tuesday night.
The floating school resides in Makoko, which has the distinction of being Nigeria’s oldest slum.
Makoko, which sits on stilts, was built on the Lagos lagoon. And even though it houses close to 100,000 residents, last year, it faced demolition due to its prime location.
The construction of the Makoko Floating School, however, would stop the dismantling of a community in its tracks.
As Face2Face Africa previously reported:
“…Architect Kunle Adeyemi came together with the Makoko Waterfront Community to create, design, and build the Makoko Floating School, which has given both a renewed hope and purpose to the lagoon community.
By April 2015, officials would announce their plans to scrap their demolition plans and use the architecture of the school, instead, to “regenerate” Makoko.
Since then, Makoko has received international press as well as a re-energized community.
But this week, Makoko’s beacon of hope, which was initially created to be storm-proof, was destroyed.
Watch community members vow to rebuild the school here:
