"Boat Schools in Bangladesh" (by Tadej Znidarcic)

A school boat arrives in the morning to pick up children who wait just below their village by the Atrai river. Each school boat makes several such stops along the river and picks up around 30 children for each class.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:19:26 +0000

A school boat arrives in the morning to pick up children who wait just below their village by the Atrai river. Each school boat makes several such stops along the river and picks up around 30 children for each class.
view full-size image

Fourth grade students board the boat school docked on the Atrai river. Each boat functions as a school bus, picking up children along the river, and as a school where classes are held.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:20:36 +0000

Fourth grade students board the boat school docked on the Atrai river. Each boat functions as a school bus, picking up children along the river, and as a school where classes are held.
view full-size image

Children raise their hands to give the answer to the teacher during a class on a boat school that operates on the Atrai river. In every class there are around 30 students that come from nearby villages along the river. During a 3-hour session they study mathematics, reading and writing in Bangla and English, plus environmental subjects pertinent to their river-based life.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:22:52 +0000

Children raise their hands to give the answer to the teacher during a class on a boat school that operates on the Atrai river. In every class there are around 30 students that come from nearby villages along the river. During a 3-hour session they study mathematics, reading and writing in Bangla and English, plus environmental subjects pertinent to their river-based life.
view full-size image

Ratna Khatun listens to the teacher during a lesson on a boat school. She lives in the village of Kalinagar by the Atrai river and attends fourth grade. She wants to become a doctor and return to the area to work on the healthcare boat.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:24:43 +0000

Ratna Khatun listens to the teacher during a lesson on a boat school. She lives in the village of Kalinagar by the Atrai river and attends fourth grade. She wants to become a doctor and return to the area to work on the healthcare boat.
view full-size image

Female student solves a math problem on a boat school. Boat schools offer education up to grade 4, following the government curriculum to ensure students can continue their studies in formal schools.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:26:14 +0000

Female student solves a math problem on a boat school. Boat schools offer education up to grade 4, following the government curriculum to ensure students can continue their studies in formal schools.
view full-size image

A school boat is docked below a village on the Atrai river. Because the classes are taking place close to the village, many parents are now less reluctant to send their children to school. Government schools are often many miles away from the villages and young girls in particular are not allowed to walk far since they could become victims of rape and trafficking.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:28:10 +0000

A school boat is docked below a village on the Atrai river. Because the classes are taking place close to the village, many parents are now less reluctant to send their children to school. Government schools are often many miles away from the villages and young girls in particular are not allowed to walk far since they could become victims of rape and trafficking.
view full-size image

Teacher corrects homework during a fourth grade class on a boat school that operates on the Atrai river. Teachers come from the same villages along the river as the students and play an important role in the acceptance of these schools.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:29:30 +0000

Teacher corrects homework during a fourth grade class on a boat school that operates on the Atrai river. Teachers come from the same villages along the river as the students and play an important role in the acceptance of these schools.
view full-size image

Student writes her name on a computer during a computer session on a boat school that operates on the Atrai river. Each boat school is equipped with a computer and the children can learn basic computer skills.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:30:48 +0000

Student writes her name on a computer during a computer session on a boat school that operates on the Atrai river. Each boat school is equipped with a computer and the children can learn basic computer skills.
view full-size image

Children and teenagers read outside a library boat docked on the Atrai river. They can borrow books from the library for one week. Each library boat travels between different villages along the rivers and visits each location several times a week.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:31:58 +0000

Children and teenagers read outside a library boat docked on the Atrai river. They can borrow books from the library for one week. Each library boat travels between different villages along the rivers and visits each location several times a week.
view full-size image

Students from the boat schools cross rice fields close to their village of Kalinagar. Rice is a staple food in Bangladesh and the seasonal floods help wet the land.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:34:07 +0000

Students from the boat schools cross rice fields close to their village of Kalinagar. Rice is a staple food in Bangladesh and the seasonal floods help wet the land.
view full-size image

Fourth grade students from a boat school play a game of tag in their village of Kalinagar while other children watch.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:35:15 +0000

Fourth grade students from a boat school play a game of tag in their village of Kalinagar while other children watch.
view full-size image

Rupali Khatun watches other girls from her class play behind their village of Kalinagar.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:36:53 +0000

Rupali Khatun watches other girls from her class play behind their village of Kalinagar.
view full-size image

Fourth grade students from a boat school work in a field behind their village of Kalinagar. Because the boat school comes to their village they can now divide time between helping their families, studying and playing. Traditionally, girls can go to school only if the facility is not too far from home. Sending girls to distant schools would take away too many hours they could spend supporting their families by working in and around the house.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:39:02 +0000

Fourth grade students from a boat school work in a field behind their village of Kalinagar. Because the boat school comes to their village they can now divide time between helping their families, studying and playing. Traditionally, girls can go to school only if the facility is not too far from home. Sending girls to distant schools would take away too many hours they could spend supporting their families by working in and around the house.
view full-size image

Female student from a boat school runs through a wheat field behind her village of Kalinagar.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:40:40 +0000

Female student from a boat school runs through a wheat field behind her village of Kalinagar.
view full-size image

A library boat is docked on the Atrai river. One library boat visits three villages along the river in one day. Its solar panels provide energy for the onboard computers and for charging of the batteries that villagers use to power the solar lamps.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:42:41 +0000

A library boat is docked on the Atrai river. One library boat visits three villages along the river in one day. Its solar panels provide energy for the onboard computers and for charging of the batteries that villagers use to power the solar lamps.
view full-size image

A baby sleeps in her mother's arms on the healthcare boat while the mother waits to be given the prescribed medicines. Health care boats visit each village three times a week. Consultations and medicines are provided free of charge. Most villagers suffer from malnutrition and gastrointestinal infections.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:44:57 +0000

A baby sleeps in her mother's arms on the healthcare boat while the mother waits to be given the prescribed medicines. Health care boats visit each village three times a week. Consultations and medicines are provided free of charge. Most villagers suffer from malnutrition and gastrointestinal infections.
view full-size image

Two mothers with their children wait on the health care boat for the paramedic to write down what they came for while the doctor in the back is attending to a patient. Healthcare boats visit each village three times a week. The health check-ups and the medicines are provided free of charge.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:48:37 +0000

Two mothers with their children wait on the health care boat for the paramedic to write down what they came for while the doctor in the back is attending to a patient. Healthcare boats visit each village three times a week. The health check-ups and the medicines are provided free of charge.
view full-size image

Children from the village of Kalinagar play together in the field behind their village. Many of them, particularly girls, attend classes on boat schools.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:50:26 +0000

Children from the village of Kalinagar play together in the field behind their village. Many of them, particularly girls, attend classes on boat schools.
view full-size image

Cousins Ratna Khatun (L) and Rupali Khatun play by the river Atrai below their village of Kalingar. They attend the same class on the boat school.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:51:41 +0000

Cousins Ratna Khatun (L) and Rupali Khatun play by the river Atrai below their village of Kalingar. They attend the same class on the boat school.
view full-size image

Boy studies in his house with the help of a solar lamp while his mother stitches a katha (katha is used as blanket or bed sheet). Solar lamps are powered with batteries that are in turn charged by solar panels on library boats. The lamps allow poorer villagers to work after dark which helps them increase their income.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:52:30 +0000

Boy studies in his house with the help of a solar lamp while his mother stitches a katha (katha is used as blanket or bed sheet). Solar lamps are powered with batteries that are in turn charged by solar panels on library boats. The lamps allow poorer villagers to work after dark which helps them increase their income.
view full-size image

Skipper steers a school boat towards the shore on the Atrai river in the morning.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:53:11 +0000

Skipper steers a school boat towards the shore on the Atrai river in the morning.
view full-size image

Rupali Khatun (L) and Banna Khatun walk through their village of Kalinagar to the spot where the school boat will pick them up.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:54:18 +0000

Rupali Khatun (L) and Banna Khatun walk through their village of Kalinagar to the spot where the school boat will pick them up.
view full-size image