Life Boats
a TIME for Kids article
Life Boats Floating schools, libraries, and hospitals make life better in Bangladesh, a nation in Asia.
In Bangladesh, this boat serves as a library. When Mohammed Rezwan was growing up in Bangladesh, his school would close for three or four months each year. The break was not a very cool, extra-long summer vacation. School was closed because of floods. Unlike many of his friends, Rezwan managed to complete his education. But he never forgot his friends who did not, and he never forgot how frustrated he felt when school was canceled.
"It was always on my mind that I should help my community," said Rezwan. As a result, he decided to take action. Rezwan wanted to make it possible for kids in his country to continue their education year-round.
A Great Idea
Rezwan took time to think about the problem. He went to school and studied hard. As a result, he became an architect and returned to the poor village in northwestern Bangladesh where he grew up. He asked himself, "If the children cannot go to school, can we bring school to them?"
Rezwan designed a school boat that could reach students even during a flood. Each boat contains a classroom, a library, and computers. Three classes of 30 students learn at the floating school each day. When class is over, the school boat takes kids back to their villages.
Because the floating school was such a success, Rezwan built many more. More than 1,500 students have benefited from the floating-school program.
Losing Ground
Floods have long been a fact of life for the people of Bangladesh. Every summer, heavy rains hit the Asian country. As a result of the rains, hundreds of rivers overflow onto the land. Lately, the floods have gotten worse.
Experts say that by 2050, one-fifth of Bangladesh could be covered by water. Bangladesh is a very crowded country. Because of the flooding, as many as 20 million people would have nowhere to live.
Hope for the Future
Rezwan is doing all he can to help his country. He is not letting any challenges slow him down. Instead, he is coming up with more solutions. In addition to school boats, he has built library boats, health-care boats, and houseboats. All of them run on solar power. Rezwan makes sure as many people as possible can be helped by his boats. For example, one library boat makes a three-hour stop at four different villages every day.
"The people who live in the riverside areas here cannot escape from the floods," said Rezwan. "So I believe that we have to learn to live on water."
The name of Rezwan's program means "self-reliance" in the Bangla language. Rezwan hopes that the people of Bangladesh can continue to contribute creative solutions to the challenges their country faces.
Learn more about Bangladesh at oxfam.org.
Rezwan is doing all he can to help his country. He is not letting any challenges slow him down. Instead, he is coming up with more solutions. In addition to school boats, he has built library boats, health-care boats, and houseboats. All of them run on solar power. Rezwan makes sure as many people as possible can be helped by his boats. For example, one library boat makes a three-hour stop at four different villages every day.
"The people who live in the riverside areas here cannot escape from the floods," said Rezwan. "So I believe that we have to learn to live on water."
The name of Rezwan's program means "self-reliance" in the Bangla language. Rezwan hopes that the people of Bangladesh can continue to contribute creative solutions to the challenges their country faces.
Learn more about Bangladesh at oxfam.org.