Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia

I am coming into my last week in Bangladesh before I head to Uganda. I spent this time traveling to the north of the country to visit a Tarango location as well as an Amal Foundation project. The northern part of the country is quite different from the south mainly because it is cut off by the Padma River. The north has one of the largest populations of indigenous, tribal people in the country. Most of them migrated to the area from Burma before the British period. Most of these people are disadvantaged compared to ethnic Bengalis. The tribal people have their own cultural traditions and language. The vast majority of the tribes are either Buddhists or Hindus. Bridges have recently been built to cross the Padma River. But until then this area has been cut ... read more

Alcohol is essentially illegal in Bangladesh. With the country being over 90% Muslim it is illegal to sell alcohol in stores or restaurants. There are just a few exceptions: there are a few "foreigners only" liquor stores as well as bars that pay high bribe fees to the government (they are frequently raided). Both have very limited selection of liquor, beer and wine. Finally, there are embassy clubs. Embassys are considered foreign land so each one has built a club/restaurant attached to their offices. Foreigners can go to these establishments and order alcohol free of consequences. When I am not dining with locals (they would not be permitted entry)I will dine at one of the embassy clubs so I can have wine with dinner. An added benefit is the low spice food they offer which is ... read more

I spent two days visiting one of Tarango’s longest standing projects in southern Bangladesh. Tarango started working in this village in the 1980s and has assisted with an assortment of projects from putting in their first road, securing homes against floods, microloans, and jute production. Our reason for visiting is that a partner NGO is going to assist the village with skills to combat their increasing months of rains and high water. The women can only produce the jute products 6 months of the year as the remaining months are too wet. Much of the jute production is done at home so women can work while still caring for their family. During the rainy months their homes are not dry making production impossible. The women and families need a source of income in the remaining months. ... read more

I have spent the last several days with a wonderful NGO called Tarango. I was initially drawn to them because of their micro loan program, but I have gone on to learn more about their different programs and have continued to be impressed. I will start with sharing about yet another inspiring woman who is leading this organization. Kohinoor Yeasmin has been the executive director since 1994 and has developed it into the organization that it is today. Kohinoor keeps calling it a small organization. Perhaps compared to the mammoth size of BRAC it is, but their impact is huge. From the first time I met her I could tell she does this work for all the right reasons. Because of that, anything I know about her I have googled compared to her sharing. She has ... read more

Amal Foundation is another impressive organization that I have connected with while in Dhaka. They were founded in 2014 with the focus of education, emergency response, health and women's empowerment. They were one of the first organizations to assist with the recent Rohingya Refugee Crisis. Since 2016 more than 700,000 refugees from the Rakhine State of Myanmar have fled to Bangladesh to escape the never ending genocide happening in Myanmar. Amal was there to provide food and medical attention while the larger organizations were still strategizing. I was specifically interested to meet with Amal Foundation because they just started a pilot program providing micro loans in rural villages to prevent girls entering into child marriage. First, let me take a moment to brag on the founder of this organization. After attending college at the University of ... read more