EDUCATION ON THE BOAT -A NEW HOPE FOR TOMORROW

EDUCATION ON THE BOAT -A NEW HOPE FOR TOMORROW | KM Taj-Biul Hasan

Filmmaker’s statement

This film is on climate adaptation issue. How the people of Northeastern regions of Bangladesh is dealing with the climatic adverse condition of ‘Cholon Beel’, the biggest wetland of this region. These areas are fully marshland and it is inundated by water 8 to 9 months a year; the inhabitants of this area are completely depended at the mercy of the environment for survival. Traveling on boat is the only means of transportation for communication. The sort dry season allows only one crop and the people have turned to fishing as their only souse of income. Naturally, with such meager resources to be tapped, the people live well below the property line. Moreover, as communication in this reason is poor at the best, infrastructural benefits is almost non-existence. Inhabitants are deprived from their basic needs as a result due to the scarcity of high land schools; the children suffer the most with very limited access to education. This has been the way of life for generations. The only thing they can hope for is luck. In such despair in 2002, a non-profitable organization came forward with an amazing idea to promote education and basic human needs of that impoverished regions. They tried to use the natural event of these regions —- ‘Water’ and ‘Boat’ simultaneously to build up a scheme called “Education on the Boat”. It is really an astonishing effort to promote education and basic needs in all perspective by considering economic, climatic, and environmental adversities. It is the first river-based environmental education and training effort in the country that teaches how to protect the environment and conserve water. Boat schools are the combinations of a school bus, schoolhouse, training boats, library and medical centers etc. Boat schools move from different riverside villages to collect the students & its beneficiaries and finally docking at last destination, arrange on board classes and training as well as provide other facilities accordingly. After the end of session, the boats drop recipients at their places and then moves forward to pick other groups. Within seven years, one hundred thousand families have directly benefited by this process.Through these innovative techniques they are not only to promoting education and basic human needs as well as conserving the environment . At the same time, to lift people out of poverty in any given situation within the most cost effective manners.

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