Writer: Candace Ip

Education is not a privilege, but a basic right for every child. However, an increasing number of children in Bangladesh are being out of school due to climate change. In 2021, floods damaged over 500 educational institutions in Bangladesh, and many students never returned to school. Instead, they had to engage in various jobs to support their families. In the same year, the school dropout rate in this country reached a staggering 17%, with over 2 million children losing the education opportunity. 

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) aims to ensure free, equitable, and quality pre-primary and primary education for all children by 2030, in order to improve global literacy rates. With this in mind, the Green Hope Foundation, which is a charitable organisation, established a solar-powered mobile library in Bangladesh to provide educational opportunities for underprivileged children in the slums. This mobile library is composed of a solar-powered truck and is equipped with lights, fans, and comfortable seating. Even in bad weather conditions, it can still provide a safe learning space for children. The mobile library travels between different impoverished villages, and distributes books to children. There are also trained female youths who read the book out for kids who cannot read, and conduct story-telling activities. 

"One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world." - Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2014. The solar-powered mobile library not only offers poor children in Bangladesh the opportunity to change their lives through knowledge but also demonstrates the unlimited potential of solar energy. 

Sources: 
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/climate-disasters-bangladesh-children-work/
https://www.thegreenhopefoundation.org/quality-education-through-clean-energy-innovation