Bangladesh

BRAC field Location Manikganj

carolinedleon — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:02:00 GMT

If anyone wants a little bit of a different Bangladesh, then I highly recommend giving the BRAC communications department a call and arranging a field visit. You can do 1,2,3 day programs to either visit some of the rural programs or the urban slum projects that they do. For anyone who doesn't know of BRAC its' one of the largest NGO's in the world operating in many impoverished countries but its home is Bangladesh. BRAC is one of those amazing organisations which operates to help the poor help themselves. If you are travelling or planning to travel around Bangladesh then don't miss the opportunity to dig a little deeper.

Our visit was to visit the regional office in Manikonj about and hour and a half from Dkaka city, an air conditioned van came to pick us up where this really sweet translator accompanied us throughout the visit to help us communicate with the local staff.

First we visited the Microfinance Programmes, the "Dabi" in one of the remote villages.

There we were privileged enough to sit in on the village meeting in which the women

First days in Dhaka city

carolinedleon — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 01:18:00 GMT

I don't care what negative things people say about Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

I've heard it all before, that its dirty, impoverished, busy and overrun with cars, CNG's and crazy rickshaw drivers that congest every road. It absolutely is. It is a chaotic city that has no rose colored glasses. It simply is what it is and if you can be done with conventional notions of what makes a city and a people then you will see the radiant duality of life.

The cities aromas are a blend of spices, sweat and toil from the beating sun and the interesting way that cars communicate speaks loudly of the way the land of Bengalis cultivate their individuality. Without patience you will miss the life underneath the chaos.

Photos: Bangladesh

carolinedleon — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:09:00 GMT

Dhaka City