Sign In
Blogs from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia
Advertisement
June 19th 2013
Well, we finally made it to ICDDRB, the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research of Bangladesh despite all of the hartals that constantly disrupted our plans. There we spent a day observing the different areas of the centre including the emergency triage station, which was somewhat of an overwhelming place. People of all ages who are suffering from extreme dehydration due to diarrhea are brought to the centre for assessment & treatment. Some of the people are so dehydrated that their eyes are completely sunken and their speech and muscle movement is severely impaired. They honestly look like they are just going to collapse and die right there in front of you. The nursing staff is so efficient though, as soon as these individuals enter the centre they are rushed to a cot where an IV ... read more
June 1st 2013
Where do I begin... At the start of the week I visited the FFC (Families For Children) Orphanage here in Uttara. The orphanage was founded by a Canadian woman who recognized the need for a home for war babies that were orphaned after the war of independence in 1971. After the war babies grew up and moved out of the home, other orphans were taken in and now there are two facilities supporting a total of 143 children, 47 of which have special needs. FFC provides them with shelter, food, and education, as well as covers the cost of any required medical expenses. Many staff employed at FFC came as destitute mothers and had no place to go too. The sense of community within this organization is profound. The children are truly cared for, loved and ... read more
May 25th 2013
Since my last blog it’s been quite the opposite as it was before... I have been keeping extremely busy! In the days that followed I spent a great deal of time at the University and even got to assist one of the medical-surgical course instructors with her lecture. At the end of that week I travelled outside of where my home base is in Uttara and headed to Savar for an entire week. There was very limited internet access there, hence the gap in blogs. The name may sound familiar to you, as it was the town where the garment building collapsed. It is also the area where one of the most renowned Bangladeshi health facilities exists – CRP (The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed). The centre opened in 1979 and is the only ... read more
May 14th 2013
Since my last blog there have been 2 more hartals so I haven't been able to do much, but I did have quite an amazing day yesterday. I actually had the opportunity to venture into a typical Bangladesh village with one of the faculty members at the University. He was nice enough to offer to take us students and some of the volunteers on a walk through of a village where he resided while studying nursing. On the surface it looks much different than the neighbourhood I am staying in. It is comprised primarily of very poor individuals as opposed to the middle class population that surrounds me now. Despite us foreigners exploring their home, the village people were very welcoming and invited us to have a rare glimpse of their daily lives. Their homes were ... read more
May 10th 2013
It's only been a few days, but I know many of you are wondering if I made it okay and how things are going so far... After the longest journey of my life, I finally made it! There was a hartel (general strike) the day I arrived, so pretty much everything was shut down. Thankfully the airport still continues to operate during hartels, and rickshaws are still cycling people to and from. A hartel is usually organized by a political party to allow the people of Bangladesh who are in favour of their views to demand change over certain laws and government operations. Lately, there have been many as an election is quickly approaching. As some of you are aware, there have been recent hartels that resulted in violent activity. I know that worries you, but ... read more
Advertisement
March 16th 2013
Bangladesh is choc-full of charities and NGOs. It’s a volunteer’s paradise because there is an endless number of organizations that need help. This weekend I visited the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), which is a very well-known organization in Bangladesh. Hospitals and clinics all around the country refer people to CRP for services, which are usually provided for free. Few people can afford health care here, and fewer have any form of health insurance. If you break your back in Bangladesh, CRP may be your only hope. Every year they host an Open Day, welcoming in neighbors and thanking sponsors. I was invited to attend as part of a group, which has worked with CRP inpatient children for years, helping them with physical rehabilitation in a swimming pool. We were greeted warmly by ... read more
December 15th 2012
This is mostly a photo blog, since Dhaka still has me tongue-tied. I’ve lived here now for four months and I know my way around a very limited area of the city. It’s a massive city, but much harder to get around than anywhere I’ve ever lived, including Istanbul. I really miss the public transportation in Istanbul. That city was difficult to get around because it was so geographically huge, and divided by the Bosphorus. Dhaka is divided by “lakes” which are the remnants of the swamps that were here before the city was built. They fill up during the rainy seasons, look thick and scummy during the dry seasons, and are always a scary shade of green. They have fish that I don’t think anybody would eat, no matter how hungry they were. Dhaka has ... read more
August 24th 2012
My first few days in Dhaka were filled with settling into my new apartment, but afterwards I did make time to go out with some of my new colleagues to explore the city. Since we arrived at the end of Ramadan we found empty streets and many closed shops. Some parts of the city are eerily abandoned. I am enjoying it immensely. Gone are the traffic jams that greeted me when I first arrived at the airport. It is a relaxed introduction to the bustling city: Dhaka Light. For one outing we visited the boat docks where ferries unload passengers and ships unload cargo via little boats. We “rented” a couple boats and paddled around until it started to rain, then boarded empty ferryboats to wait it out. It was fun seeing the city from the ... read more
August 21st 2012
If I can't even rack up the almost mandatory fifteen minutes of fame, does being in close proximity to someone famous count? While at Bangkok airport during a stopover, the passengers waiting to board the flight to Dhaka were in awe of a Bengali, and I was more than curious as to who he was. It seemed everyone wanted to shake the gent's hand and pose for a photo, and he was extraordinarily gracious with his time. There was such reverence on display, surely he couldn't be a politician! After arriving in Dhaka I found out from the hotel owner it was Dr Muhammad Yunus. I described the scene in Bangkok and she pointed to the map of Bangladesh on her wall, and asked if a portrait on it was the person. When I said yes, ... read more
May 1st 2012
Many years ago when Hena realized she had to register the births of her two daughters she decided she would make it easier for herself. If she had to make up dates anyway (she couldn't remember exactly when she'd had either girl) she might as well be strategic about it: Johora's, May 1st, Rahima's, May 2nd. One cake, one party to arrange, twice the girly excitement. Everybody wins. In America kids are usually pretty pissed if they have to share a birthday with a relative or a major holiday--it means less attention for them. But for Rahima, who is turning ten, and Johora, two years younger, the formula somehow works. So much so that I'm pretty sure I just witnessed the most fun ever had in one birthday celebration. Dancing on the bed, balloon popping, glitter ... read more
