Sailing to New Horizons

You might take a car, a bus, or a bike to school. But in Bangladesh, instead of waiting for a school bus to come down their street, many students wait for a school boat to come down the river.

That's right— these students attend school on a boat!

Bangladesh is very close to sea level. For this reason the land is flooded for five months of every year. The flooding creates many problems. For the nearly 160 million people living there, the

periodic flooding means that they are often unable to access roads, electricity, or telephones.

3 Growing up in Bangladesh, Mohammed Rezwan was often frustrated by these disruptions. Though the floods sometimes hindered his education, Rezwan eventually finished school and became an architect. He did not want to design houses, though. He had a better idea. In 1998 he founded an organization called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha. The name means "self-reliance." The purpose of the organization is to help the people of Bangladesh receive an education and also to bring technology and an improved quality of life to poor people in remote areas of the country.

In 2002, Rezwan began transforming boats into schools. The boats he used were narrow, with flat bottoms so that they could float in shallow waters The decks were covered by waterproof roofs to protect the inside of the classroom from the rain. Underneath the roofs

were desks, books, bookshelves, and computers. Each boat was built to accommodate between 30 and 35 students. The boats had everything you might find in a regular classroom. The only difference was that they floated on a river.

5 These boats have been a great success. Today Rezwan and his organization operate 88 boats that navigate hundreds of rivers in northern Bangladesh. About half the boats are used as schools, and the other half are used as temporary houses during the flood season. In addition to the schools and the temporary housing, there are also a floating technology and training center, a library that allows students to check out books, and a health-care center. The school boats travel along the rivers and pick up students for classes that include computer technology, agriculture, and human rights. After one session finishes, the boat drops the students off at home and picks up more students. Teachers on the boats usually conduct three or four sessions every day.

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At night the boats provide additional learning opportunities for students and community members. Adults attend evening literacy courses. Students study using solar lamps that are charged during the day at stations near the river. Special equipment on the boats also projects onto big screens made from sailcloth. People can come down to the riverbank to watch Web tutorials, documentaries, and other films. In all, these boats help educate close to 90,000 families in Bangladesh.

7 Parents who live in the flood area are happy to have the boats in their communities. When asked about the program, Farida, whose six- year-old daughter attends class on a school boat, "It was difficult for my parents to send me to school, but now at the facilities are in the village, I have started planning for my daughter's future education. I want to see her become a doctor or engineer.

8 By floating down these rivers, the school boats deliver more than books. They deliver knowledge, opportunity, and hope to all generations. "This [library] boat inspired me," said 18-year-student Shanto Islam, who enjoys reading science fiction books. "I started to dream." Islam now wants to attend a university.