We just returned to Rangpur from Thakurgaon. I had an amazing time in Thakurgaon with everyone being very welcoming and visiting some very interesting programs. We have also been sharing a lot of information about Canada and Canadian culture as many people have little or no access to this information unless they have been educated. We have seen so much in this one week so hopefully I don’t leave anything out.
Federations: Federations are groups of 20 people minimum that work together to tackle economic and social issues in their communities. We met two fantastic girls (about 15 years old) who have challenged teachers, their parents, and other adults about women’s oppression and are working to educate other adolescents in their area. The goals of the federations are truly admirable…and frankly they set and achieve more goals in one year than most organizations in Canada could do in 30 years. The sense of responsibility for their each other, their community, and their country, is outstanding.
We also visited with a group of 4 fabulous women who are taking a training course at RDRS to begin to work in development. They exude the same strength and belief in their people that is sure to make them outstanding leaders in their community. These ladies will not be forgotten.
We visited a few tribal groups who are recieving different types of education from embrodiery to carpet weaving, to improved agriculture practices. These programs make a big difference in providing opportunities to earn a living and encouraging disscussion of social issues. We also recieved a dance lesson from 2 groups which was fun.We went for a walk through a forest in Bangladesh which looked surprisingly similar to what one in the more southern parts of Canada might look like. While on the walk we encountered to women and a young boy who were collecting fire wood to sell in the market. These people were excluded socially from society and had no other means of survival. The two women were widows and had no other source of income but to carry incredibly heavy bundles of fire wood every day rain or shine. The women described hiding in the forest as “spiritual suicide”. The young boy was an orphan as his parents had both married other people who refused this boy. He was approximately 10-12 years old, shifting between homes to stay, and carrying firewood as his only means of survival. He spoke angrily about the school system and seemed very hopeless about his future. There are no services at all for these people. The stark contrast to Canadian society was more apparent here than ever as children and women are among the most deserving of assistance in our society. It highlighted the amount of work yet to be done here in Bangladesh.We also visited an antenatal clinic which was very interesting. births still occur generally at home here unless there are complications but now have the assistance of trained people and the women recieve medical check ups and prenatal vitamins. The conditions of the clinic were much different as it wasn’t overly sanitary looking and it was packed with people….the doctor sees 120 people a day….which we were obviously interrupting as everyone stopped what they were doing to talk with us and ask questions. This is one thing we would like to see change about our experience as it isn’t right to stop the program to visit…and I know i would prefer to see the actuall activities of the program rather than having people stop to explain it to us.
At the end of our trip we had a very fun cultural show where there was a lot of singing and dancing (including us) and some excellent food. It was sad to see our time in Thakurgaon end but I am really looking forward to the next field stations. Now that we know what to expect we can ask better questions and request changes to what happened in the first field. We stopped at an excellent temple on the way back to Rangpur….where we became the attraction rather than the temple with some Bengali students asking to have their picture taken with us.Now we are in Rangpur for a brief break to rest and then we head to Laimorat tomorrow after lunch. My blog updates will likely be weekly until the end of my trip as we are now in the field every week. I should have some pictures posted on my flickr account this weekend sometime…as soon as I have access to a computer where I can upload (check my blog roll for pictures). Hope all is well wherever you are.
Khuda Hafiz
Lyndsay Hersikorn
Bangladesh Study Tour 2007
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