Solar-Powered Boat Schools Keeping Bangladesh's Children Learning Through Floods

Founded by architect Mohammed Rezwan in Natore district, northern Bangladesh, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha runs solar-powered boats that convert into floating schools, libraries, and health-training centers for villages cut off by seasonal flooding. The boats collect students from riverside stops each morning, dock, and hold classes powered entirely by onboard solar panels, keeping education running when monsoon floods swallow roads and school buildings for months at a time. Operating since 2002, the program also brings solar lanterns, adult literacy classes, and agricultural training to families along the rivers of the Chalan Beel wetland region.