SHIDHULAI SWANIRVAR SANGSTHA


Operating school-boats since 2002


  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Work
  • Our Innovations
  • Photo Gallery
  • Awards
  • Contact Us

Our Work



By bringing school to the children even when the monsoon rains have drowned all the earthen roads, our floating schools greatly increase access to education, particularly for the girls, who may not have been allowed to travel distances to school, and
also at the risk of child marriage.



To combat discrimination and unequal opportunities, our boats teach girls and women on New skills and human rights.



Learning



The school-boat first serves as a school bus, making periodic stops to collect children from riverside stops. The boat then docks and class begins. This is the way a floating school works throughout the day and arrange 3 classes. Each school consists of a classroom for 30 students, a laptop, hundreds of books, and electronic resources. School provides basic primary education up to grade V. We have introduced the river-based environmental curriculum that teaches how to protect the environment and conserve water. The solar power enables floating school to provide late evening classes to the working children. Some students get our in-house developed Surya-hurricane solar lanterns as scholarships.



Some boats have complete facility of a standing library, for example, 1,500 books, 2 to 4 laptops with internet access, printer and mobile phones. Children, youths, senior citizens, and particularly women learn computer skills and get information on agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, job opportunities, human rights, government process and services.



Sustainable Agriculture



Floating training centers are equipped with internet-linked laptop, multimedia equipment and educational presentations. They make their way through the rivers, docking at villages to teach women and girls on new skills, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, and women rights. Laptop connected to the internet via the cellular network provide connection between users and agricultural experts at research institute. During the day time the boat arrange onboard training programs and at late evening educational programs are arranged on large sail-cloth so that many people can see from their own courtyards.



Healthcare



Floating clinics move along the winding rivers, docking at the villages, it arrange onboard medical checkups. With doctors on board, the boats are equipped with necessary medicines, which are given free to the patients. It also provides health education to the villagers.



Climate Change



We train local farmers on developing integrated floating farming methods to grow vegetables and raise fish and ducks on river, to help them carry on where no land to farm on. It has helped landless farmers to secure their income, food and employment throughout the year.



OUR WORK ENCOURAGES PARENTS TO SEND GIRLS TO SCHOOLS, WHILE RAISING AWARENESS ON WOMEN’S DECISION MAKING POWER AND MOBILITY, AND INCREASES CAPABILITIES OF DISADVANTAGED GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES.





Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha
GPO Box No. 876, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
© 2021 Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha