Mobile Education by Boat

This awareness and education initiative has two components, both of which use boats to bring technology and information to girls, women, and farmers in hard-to-reach areas of Bangladesh. The premise of the project is, in the words of Shidhulai's Executive Director, as follows: "If the students cannot come to the school because of poor communication, then the school should come to them".

First, the Mobile Internet-Educational Unit on Boats (MIEUB) initiative uses boats that are equipped with computer equipment (powered by solar energy and fuel-efficient generators) such as computers and projectors to reach out to landless and marginalised farmers via water-ways. Anchoring at riverside courtyards and public places, MIEUB arranges evening educational programmes on large screens, designed to enable people of different age groups to watch the programmes from their own courtyards. (The 8-month programme is arranged according to age groups and attracts 250-300 people for each educational show. There are also classes in human rights education.) The units provide educational programmes on water quality and environment-friendly agricultural developments, sharing information on topics such as the control of agricultural non-point source pollution and soil and stream bank erosion, sanitary latrine usage, improvement of water quality and health of the aquatic system, and protection of bio-diversity. In addition to supporting environmental sustainability, the information is meant to increase farmers' agricultural productivity: The mobile data feature of the boats allows farmers to access information on commodity and farm input prices. In addition, communication needs are met by providing access to the internet and email and by inviting farmers to use the boat's mobile phone to contact other farming groups.

Second, Shidhulai is using technology-equipped boats to provide mobile education for underprivileged girls and women. The mobile boat schools and libraries are designed to reach children and youth of the riverside's most remote areas. Locally developed educational materials are used as part of this effort to encourage girls to pursue higher education by creating an information base for women's groups. The goal is to use education as an empowerment strategy to help lower the rate of domestic abuse and early marriage, and to make society more accountable to girls. During visits of these mobile educational units, Shidhulai also guides girls and women in the use of non-violent political action regarding the elimination of child prostitution, child trafficking, and sexual exploitation of children in rural areas; the goal is to promote children's voices and mobilise women to speak out about their rights.

Shidhulai has also initiated a healthcare programme through which boats with primary healthcare facilities on board move across the waterways, providing medical checkups and health education activities.

Education, Agriculture, Environment, Economic Development, Health, Technology, Girls, Women, Rights.

Less than 30% of the Bangladesh population has access to electricity. Further, the project area "is deeply conservative, which means that many parents are reluctant to send their daughters to schools far away from their homes." 70% of the users of the boat programme are women.

The mission of Shidhulai is to educate and mobilise economically poor women and girls on their rights, so that they can plan, control, and carry out activities independently for sustainable livelihoods. The organisation also works to ensure the promotion of food security and conservation of environmental resources through open learning, distance education, and the sharing of various information resources (such as a web-based tutorial designed to help farmers identify beneficial insects and use pesticides safely).

According to Shidhulai, the Mobile Education by Boat project has increased school enrolments and reduced dropouts, improved water quality and health status, increased agricultural productivity and income, and improved human rights status along with the quality of life of 86,500 families.

In addition to being featured in various newspapers around the world and publicised on various websites, Shidhulai has received a number of awards, including the 2005 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award; the organisation plans to use these funds to double the existing fleet of 12 boats to address the rising demand in the project area and beyond. MIEUB was named a finalist in the Environment category of the 2004 Stockholm Challenge Awards. "Already there have been a number of groups who have expressed interest in replicating the Mobile Internet-Educational Unit on Boats initiative in other developing countries." For additional details about MIEUB and Shidhulai, please consult these resources (all of which are in PDF format):

• Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha: Bringing Information Technology to Rural Bangladesh by Boat
• "Literacy for Sustainable Livelihoods: Perspective from Bangladesh"
• "Reaching Wider Audiences Through Mobile Unit On Boats: Educating Rural Farmers On Water Quality"