2011: Construction of the Ambari village school

In December 2011, a new brick school building for 40 children was inaugurated in the village of Ambari in southern Bangladesh. Before the school was opened, children had been taught in a shed made of corrugated iron, having to suffer the unbearable heat on sunny days. There is no road leading to the school in Ambari. It takes an hour on foot or an hour on boat from the nearest road.

The construction began in February 2011 and was not without complications. Finding workers had been a challenging task, particularly because of the remoteness of the area, intense heats and a large number of snakes. Building materials were transported on boats. Most of the materials were delivered in the course of a few days when the water level had risen due to a tsunami in Japan.

The school was built from bricks on an embankment of clay, so that it could withstand flooding. It contains a room for the teacher and his family. The school was equipped with a solar panel thanks to the Energy for schools in Bangladesh project. A pond was dug out near the school, providing a breeding place for fish and hence a source of income for the school. Mud extracted from the pond has been used as a fertilizer. The teacher grows different crops for both children and his own use.