Blogs from Barisal, Bangladesh, Asia - page 2

Bhola would clearly be a difficult place to be an adolescent girl. Of the three districts that we work in, Bhola is the most isolated and rural. It takes two ferries—one that is an hour long—just to reach the area from the division capital. More women in Bhola wear burkas, and those who don’t are more likely to wear other Saudi-influenced head dresses and full length overcoats. In the Safe Spaces, group participants tend to be younger, because most girls older than 15 years old have already been married and moved out of the village. Those girls who have married into the village are typically not allowed by their parents-in-law and new husbands to attend the peer sessions. We also see more illiterate girls in Bhola. Even those girls who are able to attend school often ... read more

Life in the ‘desh It’s been six weeks since I’ve returned to the “desh,” and life has been moving fast and furiously (or as fast and furious as you can get in South Asia) ever since. Traveling between Dhaka and Barisal makes the time fly, and I am easily sucked into a routine with Parendi whereby we spend most of our time talking about Safe Spaces and Field Trainers. I know that most of these terms mean nothing to most of you, and there are days when even I lose track of who and what it is I’m talking about (Where is Bauphal again? Which one is Harun and which one is Aminur?). But because these people, places, and things will define my everyday thoughts and communications, I figured it couldn’t hurt to throw together a ... read more

We've passed another day or so in Bangladesh and more random little truths reveal themselves. I'm noticing, in no particular order, that a) goats are tiny here, b) you never get your instant coffee in the same mug twice (my favourite so far had 'Happy Birthday Canada!' printed on the side), c) Bangladeshi women have a uniquely purposeful way of walking, and d) it is so likely that you will get stuck in your hotel's lift that every one you go in has signs telling you not to panic. Our own personal lift breakdown - inevitable - occurred in Jessore. The thing jammed itself on the way between two floors with a clunk and a 'whuuuum' as the electricity died and the lights went down. Seth, who has a few issues with confined spaces, held it ... read more

In the last two weeks in Bangladesh, I’ve spent quite a bit of time “in the field.” This is a term that gets thrown around by development workers in these parts, and is meant to mean that we have temporarily left our fancy flats and cushy social clubs and taken long journeys to unspecified destinations in rural Bangladesh, where we briefly interact with the key players and beneficiaries of the projects that we work on from our offices in Dhaka. The field visits are so far what have made Bangladesh manageable and valuable for me. I actually feel useful “in the field,” where I can help with program decisions and meet the people whom I otherwise just know by codes and statistics in my office in Dhaka. I can eat a deshi breakfast and kill scores ... read more