SHIDHULAI SWANIRVAR SANGSTHA

Operating school-boats since 2002

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Future Floats

One-fifth of Bangladesh floods annually during the monsoon season, but extreme floods affect up to two-thirds. Our founder, architect Mohammed Rezwan, came up with an innovative solution, the ‘floating school,’ to this problem. Our Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha operates classrooms on boats, a school that goes to the students when the students can't go to school.

"UNICEF and other aid organizations are urging innovators to develop more creative solutions — like nonprofit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has done — to make sure that children get access to the resources they need to thrive".
- HuffPost, 2014

"Shidhulai's boat schools and libraries are a creative response to flooding that scientists largely agree has been
worsened by global warming".
- The Washington Post, 2007

Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is a registered non-profit organization in Bangladesh. Shidhulai's mission is to ensure that children continue learning, families have access to health services, and communities adapt to the climate crisis, no matter how high the water rises, by bringing essential services, including education, skills training, and healthcare, to people through waterways, rooted in local knowledge and innovation.

Our Work

We operates a fleet of floating schools, libraries, health clinics, playgrounds and floating training centres with wireless internet access, serving close to 160,000 people annually in flood-prone areas.

The Work We Do

We work in four themes: Learning, Sustainable Agriculture, Healthcare and Climate Change.

our initiativeS allow people to access to education and information, develop new skills, grow flood resistant crops, and adapt to the extreme conditions.

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.

Sustainable Agriculture

Floating training centers teach women and girls on new skills, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, women rights and literacy.

Healthcare

With doctor on board, the floating health clinic moves across the waterways and docking at a riverside village the boat provide

medical checkups.

Climate Change

The three-income floating farming helps landless farmers to grow vegetables and raise fish and ducks on river, that secure the income, food and employment throughout the year. High-nutrition, rain-fed traditional varieties, such as Aman rice, enhances food security and increase income.

"Groups like Shidhulai have helped Bangladesh make dramatic social progress over the last quarter century"
- National Public Radio (npr)

Shidhulai's work received coverage in Forbes, New York Times, Washington Post, The Independent, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Reuters and AFP.

It was featured on the ZDF, TRT World, Euronews, CTS Taiwan, Smithsonian Channel, CNN International, CBC-SRC/ Radio Canada, Al Jazeera, PBS, and BBC News.

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH, November 12, 2025

BANGLADESH CLIMATE RESPONSE: River communities adapt to rising waters.

Al Jazeera English aired three live segments from the Shidhulai floating schools. These included Mohammed Rezwan’s interview and a short documentary on his climate adaptation work. Aligned with COP30 coverage, these segments highlight the contributions of floating schools to the UN climate agenda.

AL JAZEERA story

REUTERS, October 7, 2025

IN BANGLADESH’S FLOODED PLAINS, SCHOOLS IN BOATS KEEP LEARNING AFLOAT.

This news feature highlights how solar-powered floating schools in Bangladesh continue to keep children learning even as rising waters cut off the villages.

REUTERS story

NPR, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS: TAKING ON WORLD PROBLEMS: 'Floating Schools' Make Sure Kids Get To Class When The Water Rises.

Nila's mother, however, sees a different future for Nila. No one in their family has ever gone to college, yet Khatun insists her daughter is going to be a doctor. And Nila nods her head enthusiastically.

npr story

HuffPost, 2014

FLOATING SCHOOL PROVES THAT EVEN NATURAL DISASTERS SHOULDN’T DEPRIVE KIDS OF EDUCATION.

To continue making inroads for the world’s most vulnerable citizens, UNICEF and other aid organizations are urging innovators to develop more creative solutions — like nonprofit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has done — to make sure that children get access to the resources they need to thrive.

HuffPost Story

The New York Times, June 30, 2013

‘FLOATING SCHOOLS’ BRING CLASSROOMS TO STRANDED STUDENTS.

“The school on land is closed in monsoon,” said Eti Khatum, 9, a student on the boat school, with two long ponytails and a gold-colored shawl. “This school floats all year.”

NYT Article

The Washington Post, September 27, 2007

IN FLOOD-PRONE BANGLADESH, A FUTURE THAT FLOATS.

Along the winding river canals that flow around the mud-hut villages, mosques and rice fields here, 230 miles northeast of the capital, the boat schools are so loved that crowds of children cheer upon seeing them dock.

The Post Article