For a luscious break from August temperatures that average 84°F (28.9°C), a young herder does refreshing backflips off water buffalo taking their daily bath in the Turag River just west of Dhaka. Though waters near the capital are polluted by oil, dyes, chemicals, and sewage, most of the nation's roughly 250 rivers are wide enough or fast enough during the monsoon to flush out impurities. Water buffalo, worth about [U.S.] $300 each, are used mainly for plowing and milking. Children also must toil. Most start working before age ten to augment meager family incomes.

—From "Bangladesh: When the Water Comes," June 1993, National Geographic magazine