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Schools in boats are keeping learning afloat on the floodplains of Bangladesh

Solar-powered "floating school" in flood-prone areas of Bangladesh ensures children don't miss class when rising water cuts off roads and villages.

Safikul, a 10-year-old boy, is one of the victims.

He waits each morning on the edge his flooded village of Bhangura in western Bangladesh for the solar powered classroom that sails straight to his door.

His home is located in Chalan Beel, an expansive 26 square kilometres (10 sq miles) of wetland. Seasonal floods can often submerge villages and cut off roads.

Education floats for Islam, and hundreds of children. The initiative was launched by architect Mohammed Rezwan in 2002 using $500 from his scholarship fund. It has now grown to a national model operated by the non profit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha.

More than 100 boats now serve as libraries, schools, and clinics. This project has educated more than 22,000 students, and it won a UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy for its work this year.

Around two dozen boats are used as classrooms in Chalan Beel. They visit riverside villages on six days of the week.

The school boats, made from local wood, are equipped with blackboards, bookshelves, and benches. Solar panels provide electricity for computers and lights.

Madhusudan Karmaker is a senior manager with SSS. "Right away, we have 2240 pupils enrolled into 26 boat schools," he said. "More than 22,500 students graduated to date, and these boats doubled as shelters during severe flooding."

Many other NGOs are using similar models to work on the wetland areas of the country.

Three shifts of three hours are held each day. Teachers use narrow waterways for collecting students and teaching Bengali, mathematics, or general knowledge.

Sufia, a parent waiting by the riverbank to see her son Islam return, said: "We never got the chance to learn." "But this boat allows my children to dream of a brighter future."

Sakhina Khatun, a teacher with SSS who has worked for more than a decade, says that similar floating school projects have inspired projects in other countries such as Nigeria, Cambodia and the Philippines.

She said, "These schools don't close, not even in floods." "That is what makes them so special."

Rezwan, the founder of the organization and a World Fellow from Yale University, stated: "I've not had much in my life, nor do these children." Giving them access to education and healthcare, as well as seeing this replicated across the globe - that's what motivates me. (Reporting from Sam Jahan in Bhangura, and Ruma in Dhaka. Editing by Neil Fullick.)

(source: Reuters)