In this story
Mara Okafor
Mara has reported from 40 countries and leads NEWSROOM 27’s foreign desk. She believes every headline is a person first.
In the dry season, the river now tastes of the sea. Farmers measure salinity every morning with handheld meters, deciding before breakfast whether they can water their fields.
Across the delta, families are replacing rice paddies with shrimp ponds and mangroves, trading a centuries-old way of life for one that fits the new water.
Villages on the move
Some communities have raised homes on stilts; others have built floating classrooms that rise with the tide. Local engineers call it adaptation by improvisation.
“We don’t fight the water anymore. We negotiate with it.”
Who pays for resilience
International funds cover only a fraction of the cost. Most adaptation is still financed by families themselves, often through loans they cannot afford.
End of story — thanks for reading NEWSROOM 27.
