AMAPÁ, BRAZIL — Severe drought in the Bailique Archipelago, a district 180 kilometers (112 miles) from Macapá, in Amapá state, has lowered river levels and halted school transportation by boat, affecting the lives of residents in several communities in the region.

With the mouth of the Igarapé Grande covered by mudbanks, students are forced to disembark, push motorized boats and take long walks through the forest to reach their classrooms and return home.

“We make this same journey every day: we have to push the small boat, but it can’t get through because it is so dry. We walk through the mud because there is no other way; there is nothing we can do. We reach a point where it is no longer possible to go by boat. We get to a certain distance and then have to enter the forest to reach the community,” said 18-year-old student Cheuda de Pinho in a video recorded during the journey.

Unable to move through navigable channels, the students leave the boats stranded in the mud, walk to a support house on the riverbank and wait for authorization or a ride to cross sections of forest to reach their communities.

The drought has completely disrupted school schedules and routines at state-run schools in the archipelago.

In these locations, access to classes has become entirely dependent on the rise and fall of the tide. When the river rises, the boats can pass; when the water recedes, access is completely blocked.

Because the school transportation fleet is easily stranded, boat operators and students depend on improvised logistics to cover the morning and afternoon shifts. In many stretches, students wait for hours on the riverbank until they can find transportation in areas with deeper water.

The hardship experienced by students and residents extends throughout the entire “Amazon summer,” the dry season that runs from July to December.

The state government is still assessing the situation in the region to take measures to assist the local population.

Amazon Agency