Voice of South is reporting on a highly innovative ICT4D initiative. Bengali NGO SSS uses floating classrooms and ICT training centers to deliver education to some of Bangladesh’s most remote riverine communities. Imagine floating computer workshops.

From SSS’ website (which is very basic and badly in need of an upgrade!):

With a very high density of river systems, large parts of Bangladesh remain submerged during five months of monsoon. Millions of people living in river basins lack basic facilities like electricity and telephone service because development has been concentrated around paved roads.

Rivers are vital to local farming, but farming methods and agricultural runoff take their toll on the health of the rivers, and the rivers make it difficult to reach villagers with information and education, which has negatively impacted the health and livelihoods of thousands of fishermen cum farmers.

With roads impassable during the monsoon, students cannot go to school. If the children cannot come to the school for lack of transportation, then the school should come to them.

I heard about their initiative via a relatively new organization called Voice of South. Started in June, VOS, in their own words are “an online platform for South Asian community development. The platform will focus on community development issues, problems, success stories and case studies. We will disseminate & share these stories among South Asian journalists, civil societies, development stake holders and policy makers.”

..sounds good to me! It’s an ambitious mission for VOS, and as they are new, please have a read and consider subscribing yourself.