Bangladesh’s Solar Powered Floating Schools
A task of the BDRC
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The innovation of solar powered floating schools is credited to
Mohammed Rezwan, a Bangladeshi architect who said:
“if the children can’t go to school, why can’t the school go to them?”
While the documentary film “EASY LIKE WATER”, currently in production, will be the far best way to promote floating schools and to educate the general public on the climate change related issues, the following is some information provided as an imperfect substitute:
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Website links related to “EASY LIKE WATER”:
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Mohammed Rezwan / Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha
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Other media on floating boats in Bangladesh
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Floating schools in other countries
Easy Like Water
SPONSOR
Mohammed Rezwan / Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha
For information on Mohammed Rezwan (the floating school boat inventor) and his organization “Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha”, meaning a self-dependant organization, please see: http://www.shidhulai.org/
Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has received various international awards and funding and has been recognized by various donors.
The following are some examples (though further funding is still needed):
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Learning for a life reports on a Floating Schools project (funded by the Isle of Man Overseas Aid Committee) & also has a movie (length: 7 minutes, 28 seconds)
Other Media on Bangladesh's Solar Powered Floating Schools
In addition to EASY LIKE WATER, there also are various other media (like short movie documentaries, picture galleries, news reports, books) on floating boats in Bangladesh:
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CNN documentary on floating schools in Bangladesh (from Dan Rivers, aired on July
20, 2010, length: 2 minutes, 32 seconds)
This CNN documentary is also available at:
AlJazeera English:
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Riz Khan - Bangladesh's floating schools, Part 1 (12/31/2009; about 11 minutes)
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Riz Khan - Bangladesh's floating schools, Part 2 (12/31/2009, about 11 minutes)
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IRIN: Humanitarian news and analysis: a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs provides a documentary “The Gathering Storm - Boat school” (by IRINFILMS; length: 3 minutes, 3 seconds)
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PBS NewsHour (of Friday, March 28, 2008) aired a 9 minutes-long-documentary
which (from minutes 5-7) reports on Bangladesh’s floating school
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panos pictures provides a multimedia presentation that uses the photography of
GMB Akash and interviews with those involved, to explore these floating libraries,
hospitals and schools (length: 6 minutes, 32 seconds)
One example of an outstanding picture gallery is:
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River gypsies floating schools (by Massimo Dall'Argine for Pastoral Care of Nomads in
Bangladesh - RUAH Onlus)
[Bede is a nomadic community living in Bangladesh popularly known as River Gypsies.]
Also documented at: Mobile School Program for the Bede River Gypsies
One example of an outstanding news report is:
by Emily Wax Washington Post Foreign Service
(Thursday, September 27, 2007)
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One example of a book referring to floating schools:
The floating school concept has also spread to other countries:
