NATORE, Bangladesh, 7 October 2007 — On a simple wooden boat in a remote part of Bangladesh, school is underway for young housemaid Mosa Rita who has been up since dawn toiling for a few taka in the homes of better-off villagers.
It is now nearly 9:00 p.m., but nothing can dim her enthusiasm for her lessons.
Outside, parents and other villagers — most of them illiterate due to their own lack of schooling — gather to listen to what the children are learning.
Mosa Rita’s father is a fisherman. Her mother is a beggar. The money Mosa Rita earns from her long hours cooking and cleaning is vital to help the impoverished family make ends meet.
But at 6:30 p.m. each day she heads for the river to be collected by the school boat that has become a lifeline for her and thousands of others like her.
A fifth of this delta nation floods each year, preventing many children in rural areas from going to school. The flooding causes thousands to drop out, condemning them to a lifetime of illiteracy and low-paid work.
Around 4,000 schools affected by this year’s floods at the end of July are still closed, while 44 have been totally destroyed, according to the UN children’s fund.
School boats like the one that Mosa Rita attends, however, aim to prevent this disruption. They also encourage parents who stop their children receiving an education because they think the schools are too far away.
In addition, evening classes reach out to children who are compelled to work during the day.
Since the school boat started coming to Mosa Rita’s village, her parents have begun to hope that there might be a better future for their daughter.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries with 40 percent of the 144 million population surviving on less than a dollar a day.
Dressed in a ragged floral dress, she recites a long poem and when asked why she likes school says she gets books and pencils free.
“The teachers teach us very well,” she says proudly.
The school boat, run by the sustainable development organization Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha — winner of this year’s Ashden Award for education and welfare — is one of nine currently operational in the northwestern Chalanbeel region. Six more are being expanded to two levels.
The organization’s founder, Abul Hasanat Momammed Rezwan, started the boat school project with one vessel in 2002 after seeing how some of his own friends and relatives suffered because of lack of education.
The vessels — traditional wooden “country” boats covered with bamboo roofs — are all equipped with a computer and lights that run on solar energy.
Twelve library boats also provide computer training and adult classes on subjects such as sustainable agriculture. Twelve more are being expanded.
The boats are also used to deliver thousands of solar-powered lights to villagers.
“If a family uses these lanterns it gives 30 to 35 hours of lighting a week and they don’t need to use kerosene which costs at least 50 taka (70 cents) a week,” said Rezwan.
As well as saving money, the lamps also enable children to study after dark. Fishermen can work for longer hours and other income generating activities such as sewing can be carried out in the home, Rezwan added.
High school student Shanto Islam, 18, regularly uses a library boat to study and read his favorite science fiction books.
“This boat inspired me. After that, I started to dream,” he said, adding that he now wants to go to university.
The vessels are flat-bottomed so they can navigate very shallow water enabling them to reach even the most difficult locations.
“The schools mean the children don’t need to go to distant places and the parents are more likely to let them come to the school,” said teacher Rashida.
