Mohammed Rezwan
Executive Director, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha
Problem
A native of a flood-prone community Mr. Mohammed Rezwan saw firsthand the hardship of riverside communities who had no access to information and the opportunities it affords. With roads impassable during the monsoon, students could not make the trek to school. Thus, it was common to see school dropouts in that region. Rezwan’s family owned a small boat that ensured his travel to school during the monsoon season. But he saw many of his friends and relatives unable to go to school. It was difficult for Mohammed Rezwan to accept the situation so he thought that if the children cannot come to the school for lack of proper transportation, then the school should come to them, by boat. Innovation Drawing on his architectural expertise, Mohammed Rezwan designed Solar-powered floating schools by modifying traditional Bangladeshi wooden boats called noka. These boats were about 15 meters long and 3 meters wide with main cabins that can fit 30 children and a teacher. Working with native boat builders Mr. Rezwan adapted the traditional flat-bottom bamboo riverboat to create his Noah’s Arks. He outfitted the boats with waterproof roofs and solar panels, installed computers, high-speed Internet and portable solar lamps made from recycled kerosene lanterns. Traditional materials, local building techniques and renewable energy sources produced a model of contextual design. The vessels are flat-bottomed so they can navigate very shallow water enabling them to reach even the most difficult locations. The boats collect students from riverside villages, dock at a final destination and provide on-board small-group instruction. After class, the boats take students back to their homes and then go on to pick up other groups. Each school boat conducts three classes a day along the 250km of interconnected rivers and streams that the organization covers. Basic primary education up to grade four is provided. Impact Floating schools have allowed people in hundreds of flood-prone communities along the rivers in northwestern Bangladesh to get access to information and education that is helping them lead better lives. Floating schools, libraries and training centers provide primary education (up to grade IV), books, information and agricultural training. The program ensures year-round schooling to children, thus lowering the school dropout rate. The laptop in the classroom encourages students to learn about new technology, check emails, and visit online educational websites. The solar lighting makes the school schedule flexible, and after school many students take home a recharged, low-cost solar lantern. The lanterns provide light at night by which children can study and women can stitch quilts to earn extra income. In the evening, the boats project educational programs onto large sailcloths that people can watch from their own courtyards. Girls and young women also take full advantage of the education and information facilities that this project delivers right to their doorsteps. Furthermore, the proximity of these facilities allays the concerns of their parents and guardians. Parents and farmers in the area also have access to appropriate training and information that help increase family income. This initiative raised awareness of how to adapt to climate change in flood-prone communities. So far this program has benefited over 90,000 families and more than 70,000 children. Rezwan has also expanded the floating school concept to create floating health clinics, libraries, training centers, cinemas, and climate shelters. Skills Having observed how floods have affected his community and how his friends and relatives were denied access to education Mohammed Rezwan set out to change the status quo. He began thinking of ways to improve the situation and decided to dedicate his life to building schools and hospitals in his flood-prone community. To do that he founded an organization called Shidhulai with about $500 from his own money in 1998. Being only 22 years old and with no experience in fund-raising Rezwan searched the Internet for organizations that could help him and submitted proposals. He had humility that drove him towards the villagers asking them what they thought of his "floating schools" idea. He even networked with the watershed management project and solid waste ex-change project to collected plastic, metal and glass from the waste collector to sell it to the recycling factories in the cities. He then used the income from these projects to build a prototype boat that was tested and improved before he introduced the first boat in 2002. Mohammed Rezwan was driven by principles. He told me in our interview “I was driven by the belief in own work, sharing the ideas, listening to people, innovation, and developing capacity of local people.” He developed processes that attracted both employees and volunteers. He surveyed all stakeholders twice a year and sought feed back and made necessary changes. He had a philosophy translated to a mission statement where he wanted “to transform the region’s waterways into pathways for education, information and technology – also to deal with climate change induced flooding, to protect the environment and people’s rights, and also to lift people out of poverty.” As a true innovator Mohammed Rezwan never stopped persisting in seeking funding for his project. He contacted organizations around the world and began receiving small grants by 2003. In 2005 he received a $1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and $20,000 prize from the World Innovation Summit for Education, or WISE, created by the Qatar Foundation in 2012. Due to all of the above Mohammed Rezwan was successful in creating an organization that has built over a hundred floating schools benefiting thousands of families and children and sustained itself for more than 10 years. |
Bio
Mohammed Rezwan is from northwestern Bangladesh. In 1998 he graduated with an architecture degree from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in Dhaka. In the same year He founded Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha with about $500 from his scholarship money and became its Executive Director. Shidhulai is the name of a village in the Natore district of Bangladesh, and the term Swanirvar Sangstha means self-reliant organization. |