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Page last updated at 08:18 GMT, Monday, 13 July 2009 09:18 UK

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Life above the floods

Hasina, a resident of Char Atra (Image: BBC)

During last year's floods that hit Char Atra, a low-lying island in the middle of Ganges, there was so much water in Hasina’s house, she had to tie her children to their beds at night to stop them from rolling off and drowning.

This year, thanks to Oxfam, Hasina’s home has been raised, so it should stay dry. The people of Char Atra are among the poorest people in Bangladesh, so few can afford such simple and cheap improvements.

Headmaster Mohammed Abdur Rashid (Image: BBC)

Headmaster Mohammed Abdur Rashid battles to keep his school open during the floods. He will only close it when it becomes too dangerous for his pupils to swim there.

The school is Char Atra's strongest building by far. It doubles as a flood and cyclone shelter for hundreds of families when conditions become too bad at home. It has been rebuilt eight times because the river keeps washing it away.

The children of Char Atra face a tough future. Few of them will finish school, there are hardly any jobs on the island, and there is no land for them to move to. Climate change will make conditions on the island increasingly difficult.

Children playing in the rain (Image: BBC)

The dream of many young islanders is to move to Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, where they can find work in a factory making clothes for westerners. But Dhaka is one of the world's fastest growing cities and its infrastructure is on the point of collapse.

Char Atra may be the only place where there are no bicycles. There are no cars or motorbikes either. But a few of the farmers have these tough looking mini-tractors.

Scientists warn that the monsoon could become more erratic in the future, which is bad news for farmers because they need reliable rainfall for their crops. It could also be heavier, which is bad news for everyone, as it could lead to even worse floods.

Men sheltering underneath umbrellas (Image: BBC)

One of the few positives about life on the Char is that the land is extremely fertile. Even during the floods, the families here still grow things on the roofs of their homes.

Women collecting water from a pump (Image: BBC)

Oxfam and its local partner have provided the islanders with water pumps. So long as the floods do not go above this level, they will be able to access clean drinking water.

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