A School That Floats!

Zakia lives with her parents and two younger sisters in a rural village in central Bangladesh. Hundreds of rivers crisscross the Asian country. Each year from June to October, strong winds called monsoons blow in from the Indian Ocean. They bring heavy rains that cause rivers to overflow. About one-quarter of the country ends up underwater. 

The flooding forces people from their homes and destroys many crops that farmers need to earn a living. Farmworkers like Zakia’s father have to travel long distances to find jobs. It’s nearly impossible for kids in flooded areas to go to school, and many end up dropping out completely.

Mohammed Rezwan knows all about the effects of the floods. Growing up in Bangladesh, he often missed school because of the rising waters. He didn’t want others to face the same challenges he did. 

“If the children cannot go to school,” he recalls thinking, “then the school should go to them.”

Rezwan used his training as an architect to design floating classrooms. His organization built its first boat in 2002. Each vessel has a waterproof roof that can withstand heavy rains. Solar panels power the boats’ laptops, enabling students to watch videos and take lessons online. 

Today, a fleet of 26 floating classrooms reaches more than 2,000 students from first to fifth grades. Rezwan’s organization has also built 10 library boats and two playground boats with slides, swings, and monkey bars.

Rezwan is also working to improve life in Bangladesh in other ways. He and his team have built floating health clinics and job training centers for adults. Zakia’s mother, for example, has learned how to sew and how to grow crops that are resistant to floods. 

Creative solutions like these will become more important as Bangladesh continues to deal with the effects of climate change. Storms are becoming more intense, and sea levels worldwide are rising. This past summer, Bangladesh saw its worst flooding in more than 100 years. Monsoons are expected to bring even heavier rains in the coming years. 

Rezwan wants to expand his fleet of boats and help more people throughout Bangladesh and beyond. 

“We do hope that more communities affected by climate change and other issues can benefit from this idea,” he says.

1. What is a monsoon, according to the article?

2. Why was it important to Mohammed Rezwan to create floating schools?

3. Why does the author state that “creative solutions like these will become more important”?