Last trip I named my blog for this week "The ever changing Chars" but I don't think that I have ever actually understood that statement until now.
Our trip began by driving to the Kurigram (district) office for lunch and then heading to the port, Chilmari, where we were to catch our boat. The boat ride out to the chars is one of my favorite parts of the trip. The boat is long and narrow with a curved thatched roof on it that you can sit on. We all took the opportunity to get some sun (after applying ample sunblock and using our scarves for shade) and take in our new surroundings.
The river is about twenty-some kilometers wide and is fed by about 16 other rivers flowing in from India. The sand islands that erode and reform are bigger than you'd expect, but constantly changing. You can see with your own eyes how quickly sandbars can build up as swirling patches of water indicate the build up of sand below, while in the next breath it is washed away, never to see the surface.
We arrived at the "port" at our new home, Manushmara char, and were greated by our interpreteur for the next four days who was "SOO happy"and "SOO honoured" to meet us. (This became a theme over the next 3 days as every vegetable was "SOO tastey"and every group was "SOO pleasure" to see us.) As we pulled up I noticed a five storey while building teetering on the shore line of the char. The building looked familiar and I realized that I'd seen it just two years ago pretty close to smack dab in the centre of the char. As our guide led us toward the office I swore that I would recognize it, and the surrounding settlements, but while the structure looked the same nothingn about the surroudings was familiar. I learned just a few minutes later that the office had been moved within the last two years because it too had been under threat of distruction due to river erosion.
All of the roads and homesteads are raised up and because of this some of them have a chance of surviving the flooding that occurs annually. But even still, most of the roads we walked were "bypass roads" that needed to constantly be rebuilt and repaired. Our interpreteur joked that all of the roads on the chars are bypass roads.
All of our visits to different RDRS groups took place in the morning because the heat prevented us from doing almost anything in the afternoons. Over our two full days (three nights) we visited a CLP (Chars Livelihood Project) group and some of their homesteads, a microfinance group and a school. The CLP is a project unique to the chars that is funded by DFID and implemented by RDRS as well as a few other NGOs. It is an all encompassing project that works with every aspect of peoples lives. As a member of the CLP people get help with raising their homesteads, obtaining income generating assets, information of advocacy and health etc. This project is so different from ones on the mainland because of the extreme poverty that is present on the chars. Most people do not choose to live on the chars but instead are forced to move there because they are landless and have no other option. Because of these issues the people on the chars are some of the most vulnerable in all of Bangladesh. That being said, they are also some of the warmest, most caring, outgoing people that we had the pleasure to meet. :)
Our afternoons, as I said, were pretty lazy, mostly spent laying around and unsuccessfully trying to communicate with the children who come and hang out around our windowns. By about six o'clock it began to cool down and we were able to take sunset strolls around the char. One of the evenings we were treated to a "cultural evening" which featured about six Bangali men dancing enthusiastically to "Beat it" by Michael Jackson. I can't even begin to describe their dancing so I'm not going to try.. but I will say that it will be imprinted on my brain for the rest of my life!
Most of our evenings drew to a close around 9:30 or ten when we ate dinner at a typically Bangali time and it was straight to bed for us Badeshi's.
Now we are back in Dhaka awaiting our flights out, after a couple days of sari shopping and last meals with Aslam of course. Our time here flew by faster than I could ever imagine and it feels as if it was just yesterday that we were here in Dhaka waiting to start this whole experience. Thanks for everyone who has read our blogs and even more so to the ones who commented (although they were quite few *coughcough*). I can't wait to be back on Canadian soil, even though it will be hard to leave this beautiful country.
See you all soon (:
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Lalmonirhat
Back to Rangpur after five nights away in Lalmonirhat. We stayed at the charming guesthouse which is rumoured to be closing soon :( A sad day. Whether it closes or not I was sad to find out that Rita, my favourite cook (and sister, as she refers to us) is retiring in 2 months. Rita is one of the most memorable people from my first trip to Bangladesh. It was she who took Teryl and I under her wing and was so excitd when we showed up for dinner one night with our Bangali makeovers. It is sad to think that next years group won't get to meet her. But on the bright side I did get her mailing address (wouldn't it be fun to test the Bangali post system) and her sons e-mail address, so hopefully we'll be able to stay in touch.
At this point in the trip it is always difficult in terms of our programming. Due to our jam packed schedule in Thakurgaon a lot of our field visits in Lalmonirhat are repeats of programs that we have already seen. Nevertheless it still amazes me how I learn something new at every visit. Whether it be something new about the RDRS program, the particular group or the people themselves, it always catches me off guard. This place never stops amazing me.
We did get a chance to have some unique experiences this week! Lalmonirhat is the HQ for the Community Health Programme run by RDRS and in the same compound they run an eye clinic. Along with the eye clinic is a school for the visually impared. The school houses 50 students who are all blind or low vision. The school gives them the opportunity to study in the classroom and also learn skills for income generating activities. We were able to sit in on one of their classes and the children demonstrated some of the skills they were learning. They showed us how to read and write braille, how they could do math using an abacus and another piece of quesipment that I can't remember the name of! They also showed off their musical talents on the harmonium, drums and flute, which were spectacular. We then had a chance to see some of the income generating activities that they were being taught such as bicycle repair, fish culture, bamboo weaving and many others. Each student is taugh three different trades in order to help them sustain themselves once they leave school. All of the students are simply amazing. It is crazy to think that only a few years ago they would have been nothing more than a burden to their families, and now they are contributing members. Some of the students that we met had even gone on to college and were working on degrees in political science.
Along the same lines of community health, we visited a government hospital where RDRS is running a TB and leprosy clinic. Leprosy has technically been eliminated in Bangladesh since 2005, but they still experience around 1 case per 10 000 people. After visiting the clinic and seeing their treatment plans we visited the homestead of one of the patients who had been helped by the leprosy clinic. We walked to their home and the first thing I noticed was that the man's hands and feet were badly disfigured with several fingers missing completely. His wife joined us and it turns out that they had both contracted leporsy. Her disfigurement was strictly in her feet but it was quite severe. One of her feet had no toes at all. We learned that because of the late detection the disfigurement was too far along to do anything about. We spoke with this man for a while about his story through the interpreters, but it caught me off guard when the man himself began speaking in English. He told us that he had lost his livelihood, that he had no way of earning for his family. He had been a school teacher and now was unable to work due to his condition. The words straight from his mouth had such an impact;
I am in constant pain and tired all of the time.
For a husband and wife to no longer have the means to support their children. It was devastating.
Just after our talk his wife lead us into their homestead to show us the cow and the bull that RDRS had given them as a means of generating income. Turns out that the cow was out grazing but the bull was in it's place. This bull, with all of it's horns, dripped his head and snorted at us in a threatening way. The man came up behind us and told us "He doesn't like new people." in a joking manner. The man, his wife and the whole village, who had come to see the Badeshi's (foreigners) in town, began to laugh and continue to joke as we all laughed along nervously. This moment, in it's simplest form, is my favorite part of Bangladesh. The people, now matter what situations they are facing, are resiliant, happy, full of life and most of all supportive of their community and their family.
On the Monday we had the opportunity to travel to an antenatal clinic in one of the Bangali enclaves in India. We were joined by another woman, named Suzzane, who is completing her masters at UC Berkley and is here conducting some research. She had been in Bangladesh for less than a week, so was quite new to the whole thing, and it was nice to have a new member of our group to talk with for a while. She was exteremely interesting, having lived in Tanzania twice for two months each and she spoke fluent Swahili. Our drive to and from the enclave was quite long so it was nice to have someone new to gab with and share all of our wealth of Bangali knowledge with.
We also got to do some sight seeing this week! Lalmonirhad district boarder India (as you may have guessed when I talked about the enclaves) and we got the chance to visit one of the boarder crossings at which there is a 'no mans land' between the two contries. The no mans land is a quarter of a mile streatch that doesn't belong to either India or Bangladesh. We were able to take a walk right up to the Indian boarder and actually spend about give minutes chilling out in India (: So yes, I have officially visited India now!
Another trip we made was to a giant dam that is built across one of the larger rivers that flows in to Bangladesh from India. Bangladesh and their countryside are largely influenced by the Indian dams and whether they are opened or closed, so they built their own to try to minimize the damaged caused. The dam is quite long and we were able to walk about halfway across it and there we found the most curious thing. We walked up to some men who seemed to be fishing with a large net. Fishing for fish.. or so we thought. Turns out the men were fishing for watermellon! We looked down in the swirling waters under the dam and saw that there were watermellons floating in the water. It turns out that these were Indian watermellon that had somehow ended up in the river and the Bangali men had simply learned how to profit (: So resourceful.
And that about sums up our trip to Lalmonirhat. There are many more stories of course, but if I don't stop myself now I never will. We are off tomorrow to our last field visit (I can't believe it's already here) to the chars. The chars are always an interesting stay because even through we experience rolling blackouts everywhere else it doesn't compare to the total lack of power we will see on the chars. We spend three nights on the chars, one back in Kurigram, two nights here in Rangpur, a few days in Dhaka and then we are on our way out of Bangladesh. When it's broken down like that it seems like it will go by in an instant. So here we go! Wish us luck.
At this point in the trip it is always difficult in terms of our programming. Due to our jam packed schedule in Thakurgaon a lot of our field visits in Lalmonirhat are repeats of programs that we have already seen. Nevertheless it still amazes me how I learn something new at every visit. Whether it be something new about the RDRS program, the particular group or the people themselves, it always catches me off guard. This place never stops amazing me.
We did get a chance to have some unique experiences this week! Lalmonirhat is the HQ for the Community Health Programme run by RDRS and in the same compound they run an eye clinic. Along with the eye clinic is a school for the visually impared. The school houses 50 students who are all blind or low vision. The school gives them the opportunity to study in the classroom and also learn skills for income generating activities. We were able to sit in on one of their classes and the children demonstrated some of the skills they were learning. They showed us how to read and write braille, how they could do math using an abacus and another piece of quesipment that I can't remember the name of! They also showed off their musical talents on the harmonium, drums and flute, which were spectacular. We then had a chance to see some of the income generating activities that they were being taught such as bicycle repair, fish culture, bamboo weaving and many others. Each student is taugh three different trades in order to help them sustain themselves once they leave school. All of the students are simply amazing. It is crazy to think that only a few years ago they would have been nothing more than a burden to their families, and now they are contributing members. Some of the students that we met had even gone on to college and were working on degrees in political science.
Along the same lines of community health, we visited a government hospital where RDRS is running a TB and leprosy clinic. Leprosy has technically been eliminated in Bangladesh since 2005, but they still experience around 1 case per 10 000 people. After visiting the clinic and seeing their treatment plans we visited the homestead of one of the patients who had been helped by the leprosy clinic. We walked to their home and the first thing I noticed was that the man's hands and feet were badly disfigured with several fingers missing completely. His wife joined us and it turns out that they had both contracted leporsy. Her disfigurement was strictly in her feet but it was quite severe. One of her feet had no toes at all. We learned that because of the late detection the disfigurement was too far along to do anything about. We spoke with this man for a while about his story through the interpreters, but it caught me off guard when the man himself began speaking in English. He told us that he had lost his livelihood, that he had no way of earning for his family. He had been a school teacher and now was unable to work due to his condition. The words straight from his mouth had such an impact;
I am in constant pain and tired all of the time.
For a husband and wife to no longer have the means to support their children. It was devastating.
Just after our talk his wife lead us into their homestead to show us the cow and the bull that RDRS had given them as a means of generating income. Turns out that the cow was out grazing but the bull was in it's place. This bull, with all of it's horns, dripped his head and snorted at us in a threatening way. The man came up behind us and told us "He doesn't like new people." in a joking manner. The man, his wife and the whole village, who had come to see the Badeshi's (foreigners) in town, began to laugh and continue to joke as we all laughed along nervously. This moment, in it's simplest form, is my favorite part of Bangladesh. The people, now matter what situations they are facing, are resiliant, happy, full of life and most of all supportive of their community and their family.
On the Monday we had the opportunity to travel to an antenatal clinic in one of the Bangali enclaves in India. We were joined by another woman, named Suzzane, who is completing her masters at UC Berkley and is here conducting some research. She had been in Bangladesh for less than a week, so was quite new to the whole thing, and it was nice to have a new member of our group to talk with for a while. She was exteremely interesting, having lived in Tanzania twice for two months each and she spoke fluent Swahili. Our drive to and from the enclave was quite long so it was nice to have someone new to gab with and share all of our wealth of Bangali knowledge with.
We also got to do some sight seeing this week! Lalmonirhad district boarder India (as you may have guessed when I talked about the enclaves) and we got the chance to visit one of the boarder crossings at which there is a 'no mans land' between the two contries. The no mans land is a quarter of a mile streatch that doesn't belong to either India or Bangladesh. We were able to take a walk right up to the Indian boarder and actually spend about give minutes chilling out in India (: So yes, I have officially visited India now!
Another trip we made was to a giant dam that is built across one of the larger rivers that flows in to Bangladesh from India. Bangladesh and their countryside are largely influenced by the Indian dams and whether they are opened or closed, so they built their own to try to minimize the damaged caused. The dam is quite long and we were able to walk about halfway across it and there we found the most curious thing. We walked up to some men who seemed to be fishing with a large net. Fishing for fish.. or so we thought. Turns out the men were fishing for watermellon! We looked down in the swirling waters under the dam and saw that there were watermellons floating in the water. It turns out that these were Indian watermellon that had somehow ended up in the river and the Bangali men had simply learned how to profit (: So resourceful.
And that about sums up our trip to Lalmonirhat. There are many more stories of course, but if I don't stop myself now I never will. We are off tomorrow to our last field visit (I can't believe it's already here) to the chars. The chars are always an interesting stay because even through we experience rolling blackouts everywhere else it doesn't compare to the total lack of power we will see on the chars. We spend three nights on the chars, one back in Kurigram, two nights here in Rangpur, a few days in Dhaka and then we are on our way out of Bangladesh. When it's broken down like that it seems like it will go by in an instant. So here we go! Wish us luck.
The real Saidpur
As I promised here is my blog from last week, which I started and because of technical difficulties couldn't be posted until now! enjoy...
What a week! In terms of time spent in the field this week was quite slow, but the emotional energy that we put into it was even greater than last. The girls and I have been discussing how exactly to write about all that has happened this week and I think we’ve all chosen to do so in our own way. For me some of the things we experienced and some of the bonds that we formed are better kept in our hearts and our heads, so forgive me if this week's blog is a bit lean.
We spent the majority of this week in the town of Saidpur at a drop in centre for women who work in the sex trade. It was a great opportunity to spend more than just a few hours in one place and to get to know some of the amazing Bangladeshi people on a more personal level. The drop in centre serves a number of different functions and provides services including a safe space for women to come and clean up and rest during the day, a centre for AIDS and STD knowledge and prevention, distribution of medication, and a number of different education programs. The majority of the women have not attended any form of school so when they come to the centre they take classes on literacy and other basic skills. If they choose, some of them are also trained in tailoring as a way to generate an alternative income. The problem with this is that the women are blacklisted from society and are unable to establish independent businesses as people in the community will always identify them as sex workers. The dream for many of them is to move far away and start fresh, unfortunately that is reality for very few.
There is also a school located inside the centre that is for the children of the women, who are often blacklisted as well and not allowed to go to school. The school has a class of approximately 12 kids who, after a year will then attend a local primary school. One of the major problems that these children have is that they must register at the school using their fathers’ name. Because a lot of them don’t know who their fathers are RDRS will take guardianship of the children and they can register under the RDRS name. It is heartbreaking to see these children, with so much energy and spunk, and know that they are at such a disadvantage from the start. I can’t even begin to think about the many young girls in the class and the odds that they will end up following in their mothers footsteps. The centre and the mothers alike are hopeful that with education this doesn’t have to be the case, but when looking at reality it is sometimes hard to see the bright side of things.
Now that the background is taken care of.. a few more particulars about our week!
We had such a blast over our four days at the centre. We spent a good chunk of our time with the children at the school and let me tell you! These kids have energy! We taught them games like the hokey pokey, and head and shoulders, knees and toes and made colourful alphabet and weather charts with drawing and colouring help from the kids. I forget how good kids are at drawing! So creative. We had some funds saved up to buy the school some much needed supplies, so we were able to find out what they needed and go shopping one morning to stock up. We decked out the classroom with bookcases, backpacks, games and decorations. It was awesome to see kids who truly appreciated what they were given. Some of my favourite times were playing in the small schoolyard with both the women and children, skipping rope, playing soccer and having the best/most awkward conversations in Bangla/English.
In contrast to our jovial play times in the courtyard our conversations with the women were a bit more on the serious side. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a blast with them. They are a special group of women that I will never forget, but our time with them was not all fun and games. We had an amazing opportunity to sit down for a few days and get to know them, get to know their lives, and get comfortable enough with them that we could ask some tough questions. It was amazing how we all bonded. Despite the language barrier we seemed to be able to speak to each other, even when our interpreter took a break. We had a great advantage this year in that we are an all female group and I honestly couldn’t have been more honoured to be here.
The rest of our time this week was spent in and around Rangpur. We took quite a few walks and rickshaw rides to the market and had fun wandering around the narrow corridors of the marketplace. We (well mostly Eileen) bartered for bangles and other things and we were able to hang out with Aslam’s daughter and have her do some mehendi (henna) for us. It was a great week filled with many highs and emotional peaks, definitely one to remember.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Saidpur...
Due to some technical difficulties (Bangali internet and time) my blog for this past week in Saidpur and Nilphamari will be posted in one week (along with a brand-spankin' new one from Lalmonirhat!)
We've been a tad spoiled the past week here in Rangpur, with internet, tv movies and air-con whenever we need it.. so back to the field we go, to enjoy cockroaches, mosquito nets and the heat (:
See you in a week!
christine
We've been a tad spoiled the past week here in Rangpur, with internet, tv movies and air-con whenever we need it.. so back to the field we go, to enjoy cockroaches, mosquito nets and the heat (:
See you in a week!
christine
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friendly Thakurgaon
Our first field visit can only be described as typically Thakurgaon! We decided that our "Friendly Manitoba" slogan was misplaced and that it should be handed over to Friendly Thakurgaon. Our visit was coordinated by Al-Montazir, the head of Thakurgaon operations and it proved to be as busy and productive as ever.
Between our visits to individual RDRS programs we had the opportunity to take part in some sight seeing around the area. We were able to visit the largest mango tree in Asia, (don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure it's right!) the amazingly intricate terracotta Kantangar Temple, and were able to enjoy a few lovely walks through the forests.. well... they would have been even more enjoyable if we all weren't sweating not only our faces off.. but sweating off anything that is capable of being sweat off! Thank goodness it's all worth it and also that it has been starting to cool off since then.
Our program started the first afternoon that we arrived with visit to a local SHIKHON school which is a Children Alternative Education program for kids who either can't or don't go to the government run schools. The programs is designed to redirect children who have dropped out or are behind because of social issues, such as being a member or a tribal minority, back into the regular school system. It was a great way to begin our program as children are always the best and making you feel welcome and putting a smile on your face. From this first visit on our schedule was jam packed with a wide range or visits. Some of these include:
-visits to federation offices
-farmers field school and demonstration plot visits
-a meeting with the Chief Judicial Magistrates
-two microfinance group visits, one with a tribal group
-a visit to a prenatal clinic (including a chance to actually FEEL a baby inside the mothers belly!)
-visits to benefitiaries of the prenatal program (we got to see three sets of twins in one day!) and;
-a visit to a school where RDRS is running an HIV awareness program
To give you an idea of a typical field visit I thought I would explain on of our many days, or a portion of a day as a whole day would take too long I think!
On Sunday, May 9th we began our second day in Thakurgaon by meeting our driver and our interpreters outside of the guest house and driving about half an hour to a federation office where we met with the elected chairman and other members of the federation. (Which is a organization made up of smaller groups of RDRS members. The federation is a step towards the members of these groups taking control over their own programs and being self sustaining without the assistance of RDRS.) We are greeted by a few members and led into the meeting room where we sit on five wooden chairs, at the front of a large room filled with federation members. Our interprete sits to our left and banters with the group, leaving us momentarily clueless, until, as if at random, they decide that it's time for introductions. Everyone around the room introduces themselves with their name and their position in the federation and then it's our turn, trying out our new Bangali by introducing ourselves "Amar nam Christine." etc. Our hosts then explain, through our interpreter, all about their organization and specifically about the Farmers Field Schools (FFS) that they run, as it is a key component of their particular federation. They explain that the FFS are a system of groups and demonstration plots that work to bring new technology to the marginalized farmers in order to increase their income generating activites. These technologies include: a new type of rice that can be harvested three times and year instead of the normal two times, teaching rice farmers about integrated fish cultivation in their paddies, or crop rotation techniques to ensure that the soil is kept fertile. After the summary of their operations we are then allowed to ask questions which is sometimes quite easy, and other times quite challenging depending on how thorough their explainations are to begin with. Our meeting then wraps up with a picture and a send off and we are wisked away in our chariot (the van) for another half an hour drive down dirt roads as wide as the van itself. From here we visited some of the groups that are implementing the new technologies such as a FFS that had begun fish cultivation, a field that was growing beans in order to get nitrates into the soil etc. One thing we've noticed, and it may be simply because of the language barrier that exists, even with an interperter, or because we look confused from time to time, but especially today they seemed to drill it into us that this new form of rice was harvested THREE, not TWO times a year. It used to be harvested two times a year, but now it is three. Was two, now three.
That is a typical visit for us and we have anywhere from three to 8 a day (: Every part of the experience is priceless and we learn a little bit more about the "Bangali way" everywhere we go. I find it so hard because even a write up like that cannot capture all of the simple things that seem so second nature to me now. The fact that we have at least 20 camera phone pictures taken of us everyday, and how we can't go anywhere without the word "badeshi" (which means foreigner) whispered behind us, the children who run up to us and practice the only English words they know (usually "Hello, how are you?") only to be dumbfounded when we respond and they can't understand a word we say. There are so many things that I love about this place that you need to experience to understand. I encourage everyone to come visit Bangladesh and experience them for yourselves!
Through all of our visits and busy days I haven't had much time to process the fact that I'm back here again! Everything seems so much the same on the surface but I'm noticing subtle differences in the way that I look at things. I found that during my first visit it was enough work simply to process all of the imformation about the programs and how RDRS operates that I didn't have any capacity left to examine the underlying issues and to see past the success stories to the hardships that are still so much a part of so many peoples lives here. RDRS and all of the many other NGO's in the area do such great work, but in a country with such a large, dense population it is impossible to tackle all of the issues that all of the people are experiencing...
Just some rambling thoughts that I am starting to work my way through! We'll see how that all goes in the next couple of weeks!
So! A long blog today.. probably the first of many as our experiences just keep building on each other and getting better and better (:
From Rangpur,
Christine
Between our visits to individual RDRS programs we had the opportunity to take part in some sight seeing around the area. We were able to visit the largest mango tree in Asia, (don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure it's right!) the amazingly intricate terracotta Kantangar Temple, and were able to enjoy a few lovely walks through the forests.. well... they would have been even more enjoyable if we all weren't sweating not only our faces off.. but sweating off anything that is capable of being sweat off! Thank goodness it's all worth it and also that it has been starting to cool off since then.
Our program started the first afternoon that we arrived with visit to a local SHIKHON school which is a Children Alternative Education program for kids who either can't or don't go to the government run schools. The programs is designed to redirect children who have dropped out or are behind because of social issues, such as being a member or a tribal minority, back into the regular school system. It was a great way to begin our program as children are always the best and making you feel welcome and putting a smile on your face. From this first visit on our schedule was jam packed with a wide range or visits. Some of these include:
-visits to federation offices
-farmers field school and demonstration plot visits
-a meeting with the Chief Judicial Magistrates
-two microfinance group visits, one with a tribal group
-a visit to a prenatal clinic (including a chance to actually FEEL a baby inside the mothers belly!)
-visits to benefitiaries of the prenatal program (we got to see three sets of twins in one day!) and;
-a visit to a school where RDRS is running an HIV awareness program
To give you an idea of a typical field visit I thought I would explain on of our many days, or a portion of a day as a whole day would take too long I think!
On Sunday, May 9th we began our second day in Thakurgaon by meeting our driver and our interpreters outside of the guest house and driving about half an hour to a federation office where we met with the elected chairman and other members of the federation. (Which is a organization made up of smaller groups of RDRS members. The federation is a step towards the members of these groups taking control over their own programs and being self sustaining without the assistance of RDRS.) We are greeted by a few members and led into the meeting room where we sit on five wooden chairs, at the front of a large room filled with federation members. Our interprete sits to our left and banters with the group, leaving us momentarily clueless, until, as if at random, they decide that it's time for introductions. Everyone around the room introduces themselves with their name and their position in the federation and then it's our turn, trying out our new Bangali by introducing ourselves "Amar nam Christine." etc. Our hosts then explain, through our interpreter, all about their organization and specifically about the Farmers Field Schools (FFS) that they run, as it is a key component of their particular federation. They explain that the FFS are a system of groups and demonstration plots that work to bring new technology to the marginalized farmers in order to increase their income generating activites. These technologies include: a new type of rice that can be harvested three times and year instead of the normal two times, teaching rice farmers about integrated fish cultivation in their paddies, or crop rotation techniques to ensure that the soil is kept fertile. After the summary of their operations we are then allowed to ask questions which is sometimes quite easy, and other times quite challenging depending on how thorough their explainations are to begin with. Our meeting then wraps up with a picture and a send off and we are wisked away in our chariot (the van) for another half an hour drive down dirt roads as wide as the van itself. From here we visited some of the groups that are implementing the new technologies such as a FFS that had begun fish cultivation, a field that was growing beans in order to get nitrates into the soil etc. One thing we've noticed, and it may be simply because of the language barrier that exists, even with an interperter, or because we look confused from time to time, but especially today they seemed to drill it into us that this new form of rice was harvested THREE, not TWO times a year. It used to be harvested two times a year, but now it is three. Was two, now three.
That is a typical visit for us and we have anywhere from three to 8 a day (: Every part of the experience is priceless and we learn a little bit more about the "Bangali way" everywhere we go. I find it so hard because even a write up like that cannot capture all of the simple things that seem so second nature to me now. The fact that we have at least 20 camera phone pictures taken of us everyday, and how we can't go anywhere without the word "badeshi" (which means foreigner) whispered behind us, the children who run up to us and practice the only English words they know (usually "Hello, how are you?") only to be dumbfounded when we respond and they can't understand a word we say. There are so many things that I love about this place that you need to experience to understand. I encourage everyone to come visit Bangladesh and experience them for yourselves!
Through all of our visits and busy days I haven't had much time to process the fact that I'm back here again! Everything seems so much the same on the surface but I'm noticing subtle differences in the way that I look at things. I found that during my first visit it was enough work simply to process all of the imformation about the programs and how RDRS operates that I didn't have any capacity left to examine the underlying issues and to see past the success stories to the hardships that are still so much a part of so many peoples lives here. RDRS and all of the many other NGO's in the area do such great work, but in a country with such a large, dense population it is impossible to tackle all of the issues that all of the people are experiencing...
Just some rambling thoughts that I am starting to work my way through! We'll see how that all goes in the next couple of weeks!
So! A long blog today.. probably the first of many as our experiences just keep building on each other and getting better and better (:
From Rangpur,
Christine
Thursday, May 13, 2010
RDRS; an overview
We're back from our first week in the field (: and I thought it would be a good idea to give you all a little background on RDRS before I wrote a post about our experiences! Our whole visit in Bangladesh is thanks to an amazing partnership between RDRS and the University of Manitoba that has been laid down over years of visits by Joe Danis, our Director of Housing and Student Life. So here is a little bit of background so that my future posts can fit into the proper context!
RDRS (Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service) was founded in 1971 by the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation and the Department for World Service Founder Director Dr. Olav Hodne from Norway. It was first started to provide aid to thousands of people who were fleeing the Rangpur, Dinajpur area during the War of Liberation.
In the following years it shifted from a relief and rehabilitation effort to a sectoral development programme. Landmarks in the RDRS timeline include:
-the establishement of the first womens group in 1976 (with health nutrition and family planning introduced the same year)
-the first womens small farmers group formed in 1983
-a comprehensive development program launched in 1987
-marginal and samll farmer' system crop intensification project and community health unit started in 1989 and;
-non-formal schools and credit programme established between 1990 and '91
In 1997 RDRS appointed its first Bangladeshi Executive Director and emerged as an autonomous Bangladeshi NGO. From 1997 on highlights of their program development have included:
-empowering the disadvantaged tribal poor
-expanding microfinance programs to include the ultra-poor
-appointing the first Woman Director (Dr. Salima Raham) for community health programme
-an expanded working area and;
-development of youth and women forums
As of December 2009 RDRS was working with a total of 19,768 groups totaling 1.9million people. The core development programmes that drive RDRS today forcus on social empowerment, women's rights, health, education, agriculture and the environment and disaster preparedness. They are committed to using a rights-based approach that will empower the rural poor to ensure they have the tools they need to overcome whatever they may face in the future.
This is just a quick overview and a few highlights of all of the amazing programs run by RDRS. Over the next 4 weeks we will get a chance to look in depth at these programs and directly see how they are affecting beneficiaries.
Hopefully I'll get a chance later today to post the specifics of our week in Thakurgaon!
And as it is now 12:50am back home (11:50am here) I bid you goodnight (:
RDRS (Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service) was founded in 1971 by the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation and the Department for World Service Founder Director Dr. Olav Hodne from Norway. It was first started to provide aid to thousands of people who were fleeing the Rangpur, Dinajpur area during the War of Liberation.
In the following years it shifted from a relief and rehabilitation effort to a sectoral development programme. Landmarks in the RDRS timeline include:
-the establishement of the first womens group in 1976 (with health nutrition and family planning introduced the same year)
-the first womens small farmers group formed in 1983
-a comprehensive development program launched in 1987
-marginal and samll farmer' system crop intensification project and community health unit started in 1989 and;
-non-formal schools and credit programme established between 1990 and '91
In 1997 RDRS appointed its first Bangladeshi Executive Director and emerged as an autonomous Bangladeshi NGO. From 1997 on highlights of their program development have included:
-empowering the disadvantaged tribal poor
-expanding microfinance programs to include the ultra-poor
-appointing the first Woman Director (Dr. Salima Raham) for community health programme
-an expanded working area and;
-development of youth and women forums
As of December 2009 RDRS was working with a total of 19,768 groups totaling 1.9million people. The core development programmes that drive RDRS today forcus on social empowerment, women's rights, health, education, agriculture and the environment and disaster preparedness. They are committed to using a rights-based approach that will empower the rural poor to ensure they have the tools they need to overcome whatever they may face in the future.
This is just a quick overview and a few highlights of all of the amazing programs run by RDRS. Over the next 4 weeks we will get a chance to look in depth at these programs and directly see how they are affecting beneficiaries.
Hopefully I'll get a chance later today to post the specifics of our week in Thakurgaon!
And as it is now 12:50am back home (11:50am here) I bid you goodnight (:
Thursday, May 6, 2010
touchdown; Rangpur or bust
It is officially our fifth night in Bangladesh and we have finally made it up to Rangpur, our home base for the next 5 weeks! It felt like coming home when we arrived at the guesthouse today and were greated by all of the amazing staff that were the highlight of my last trip. Other than a few minor changes (like a second guest house starting to take shape through the construction) the place and the people haven't changed one bit. They are as helpful and as accomodating as ever.
Rangpur is like a breath of fresh air when compared to our last couple of days spent in Dhaka. Dhaka is an ever expanding 'megacity' and with a population of well over 15 million it's fair to say that it is a congested at the best of times. I always find it interesting driving out of the city and watching the crowded streets fade ever so slowly into garments factories, which fade into brick kilns with large smoke stacks, which finally fade into rice paddys and the slower paced life of the country.
Our days in Dhaka were filled with shopping for our traditional clothing, the salwar kameez, a meeting and security briefing at the Canadian Consulate, a day trip to Saonargoan and the Bangali Taj Mahal (which was quite the treat) and of course a night out at our favorite Bangali Italian restaurant Spaghetti Jazz. The days were always long, largely due to the fact that getting anywhere in the city through the crowded streets took about an hour at the very least. Needless to say it is nice to be back in Rangpur and feel a bit of freedom from the back of our well driven van. We have been in Rangpur for only 7 hours and already Aslam has taken us on a tuk-tuk and rickshaw trip to the local shops, haggled on our behalf to get us a few more outfits for the field, cooked us two amazing meals, and charmed all of the ladies into understanding why we all love him so much.
Rangpur is like a breath of fresh air when compared to our last couple of days spent in Dhaka. Dhaka is an ever expanding 'megacity' and with a population of well over 15 million it's fair to say that it is a congested at the best of times. I always find it interesting driving out of the city and watching the crowded streets fade ever so slowly into garments factories, which fade into brick kilns with large smoke stacks, which finally fade into rice paddys and the slower paced life of the country.
Our days in Dhaka were filled with shopping for our traditional clothing, the salwar kameez, a meeting and security briefing at the Canadian Consulate, a day trip to Saonargoan and the Bangali Taj Mahal (which was quite the treat) and of course a night out at our favorite Bangali Italian restaurant Spaghetti Jazz. The days were always long, largely due to the fact that getting anywhere in the city through the crowded streets took about an hour at the very least. Needless to say it is nice to be back in Rangpur and feel a bit of freedom from the back of our well driven van. We have been in Rangpur for only 7 hours and already Aslam has taken us on a tuk-tuk and rickshaw trip to the local shops, haggled on our behalf to get us a few more outfits for the field, cooked us two amazing meals, and charmed all of the ladies into understanding why we all love him so much.
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