While traditional tourist thinking keeps people away from supposed disaster zones such as Bangladesh, there’s another way of looking at such disheartening situations. Visits to the country are in fact a real opportunity to do something positive for communities in need, like building houses for cyclone or flood victims, or helping a slum education project to operate more efficiently and save costs. By contacting certain organisations before your arrival, it is often possible to set up low-cost volunteer placements that can make a holiday to Bangladesh both memorable and very positive for the local community. In Bangladesh, this form of travel is already fairly common and there are plenty of opportunities available to assertive volunteers.

There are also a number of internships available in the country where for a nominal fee you can be exposed to the work undertaken.

A few caveats first. Certainly the country attracts a fair number of wellintentioned do-gooders wanting to save the world, but do be aware that the experience of volunteering in developing countries such as Bangladesh often brings up more thorny questions than it solves. Much of the change these volunteers want to create is more often manifest in themselves than in their outside surroundings. In other words, if you come on a volunteer experience you must remember that local people are also here to teach you about yourself as much as they want to learn from you. It also helps to leave patronising attitudes at home – Bangladeshis have long endured negative perceptions towards the country. For your sake and theirs, do remember that you are dealing with people who know what development is. The simple reality is that many Bangladeshis suffer for a lack of opportunity, whether that be fiscal, educational or employment. That probably also explains why when given the opportunity, most Bangladeshi people fervently seize it with both hands.

Pre-departure, the best thing you can do is your homework. Learn as much as you can and set your expectations properly about what you hope to achieve, and talk with former long-term visitors to the country if you can. Learn the local language as much as possible before your arrival, and do realise that the climate, food and cultural conditions of Bangladesh will take your health to task during a stay here. While this may seem very daunting, the intensity of the Bangladeshi experience will undoubtedly prove to be memorable and rewarding.

The Internship Experience with RDRS

From previous experience, the RDRS has found that interns who are motivated and committed, adaptable and able to work on their own prove the best interns and both parties gain most from the experience. Although the RDRS provides reasonable living conditions in its guesthouses (there are five main guesthouses, in Dhaka and the field), living in northern Bangladesh can prove very challenging and demanding – there is little freedom of movement, and foreigners (especially women) attract attention wherever they go, which can be difficult for those not used to it. There is little or no evening social life. Visitors are expected to fit into prevailing cultural practices and norms so as not to cause offence. Visitors may also find the same Bengali food monotonous and unappetising for weeks on end. The summer months are also very hot and humid (averaging 34–36°C and with 95% humidity) which can be energy-sapping. Communications are also problematic. It is possible to telephone Europe or North America (though charges are high); email/internet communication exists. Owing to political circumstances there may be frequent strikes often extending for several days when all transport stops and interns should remain indoors. In the summer months, including the monsoon, flooding does occur which is unlikely to affect the interns directly but may limit their movement. Finally, the RDRS is a busy working NGO – there may be no staff member with much time to assist or supervise an intern, so the intern may have to fit into the travel arrangements of others to visit the field. Occasionally other interns can become disillusioned and this can unsettle even those who are relatively satisfied.

For those who can adjust to these conditions, an internship can be a rewarding experience and the RDRS has been privileged to have had a long list of interns who have adapted, and benefited personally from the experience as well as contributing to the work of the organisation and articulating its work abroad. The RDRS also has experience of a few who were not satisfied, or found the circumstances oppressive.

Normally, interns are expected to have some maturity – so anyone below age 23 would need to be highly motivated. Some previous exposure to developing countries will also help overcome the initial ‘shock’.

Volunteer Organisations

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Rural Improvement Foundation www.brif.org. Has worked with international volunteer-sending organisations in the past, but now accepts applications to volunteer.

Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed www.crpbangladesh. com. Needs volunteer physiotherapists or occupational health therapists, but also accepts skilled volunteers for other tasks.

Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh e-mail: info@habitatbangladesh.org; www.habitatbangladesh.org. Supports groups of volunteers to do relief work but also regular construction programmes.

LAMB Project e-mail: stwc@lambproject.org; www.lambproject.org. A Christian hospital facility located at Parbatipur, 24km east of Dinajpur. Accepts short-term volunteers for various health-related needs.

The Dhaka Project www.thedhakaproject.org. Accepts volunteers for their project in which slum children are given free education, healthcare & food.

International

AYAD www.ayad.com.au. Paid placements for recently graduated Australian youth. Has a significant presence in Bangladesh; opportunities here are based on the local skills required.

Hands on Disaster Response e-,ail: info@hodr.org; www.hodr.org. Supported a volunteer team in reconstruction after Cyclone Sidr, but works in other disaster regions of the world. Volunteers are provided with meals & accommodation & only need to pay for travel expenses to get to the project site.

Idealist.org www.idealist.org. A repository of volunteer opportunities. Do your homework on organisations before accepting a post.

Volunteers for International Development Australia www.vidavolunteers.com.au. A similar programme to the AYAD programme, but for a longer placement period & focusing specifically on poverty-reduction activities.

Volunteers for Peace www.volunteerforpeace.org. USbased outfit with a database of international volunteering opportunities, including Bangladesh. Voluntary Service Overseas Canada www.vsocan.org. Volunteer-sending organisation for professional, skilled workers. Has a Bangladesh programme. Typical volunteer placement is 2 years but short-term placements are increasingly common.

BRAC e-mail: internship@brac.net; www.brac.net/get_involved.htm. Also hosts research & student internships for those interested in familiarising themselves with the activities of one of the largest NGO in the world. wCawnwad.ciiadna .Ignct.ecran. aOtifofenrasl Dsoemveel olpimmietendt Aingteenrcnyships to Bangladesh through Canadian education institutions, particularly Humber College in Toronto (www.humber.ca).

Fulbright Program www.fulbright.state.gov. US State Department programme that sends American scholars to Bangladesh for courses of study or research projects.

Grameen Bank e-mail: g_iprog@grameen.com; www.grameen-info.org. Offers exposure internships at reasonable costs to students & researchers (for further details see box, page 000).

Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) e-mail: rdrs@bangla.net; www.rdrsbangla.net. Northwest Bangladesh’s best & largest NGO. Supports an internship programme from the North Bengal Institute in Rangpur (for further details see box, page 000).

Transparency International Bangladesh e-mail: info@tibangladesh.org; www.ti-bangladesh.org. The organisation responsible for publicising the incidents of corruption in graft-ridden political system of Bangladesh. Naturally, internships here would be very challenging.

Stuff your rucksack – and make a difference!

www.stuffyourrucksack.com is a website set up by television’s Kate Humble which enables travellers to give direct help to small charities, schools or other organisations in the country they are visiting. Maybe a local school needs books, a map or pencils, or an orphanage needs children’s clothes or toys – all things that can easily be ‘stuffed in a rucksack’ before departure. The charities get exactly what they need and travellers have the chance to meet local people and see how and where their gifts will be used.

The website describes organisations that need your help and lists the items they most need. Check what’s needed in Bangladesh, contact the organisation to say you’re coming and bring not only the much-needed goods but an extra dimension to your travels and the knowledge that in a small way you have made a difference.

~courtesy Moshiur R. Khandaker, Chief Executive, SAFE~

International Coastal Cleanup 2006: Bangladesh, originally uploaded by coastalcleanup.

SAFE has undertaken Cleanup Bangladesh Campaign in close cooperation with Clean Up The World campaign & Project AWARE. As part of this campaign Cleanup for Earth day will be held on April 22, 2009. Volunteers from different organization will be participating in this year’s beach and underwater Cleanup as part of an earth day activity at Cox’s bazar, St.Martin and Kuakata. It’s a great way for volunteers of all ages to learn about how to reduce the impact of waste and make a real difference in conserving the environment.

As a member of the ‘Clean Up The World’ campaign, our national efforts will be recognized internationally. Supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Clean Up The World is a global environmental initiative that attracts an estimated 35 million participants in more than 110 countries each year. To learn more about Clean up the World visit their website or the SAFE website.

Thousands of people across the globe will be having fun and getting wet to celebrate cleanup for Earth Day. A special SAFE team consists of doctors, first aiders & rescue personnel will be formed to ensure the health, safety and medical emergency of all the participants.

The main attractions of this event are following:

• Beach rubbish collection
• Separate recyclable rubbish
• Remove harmful marine debris
• Collect rubbish survey information
• Provide volunteers with a project AWARE Certificate of Recognition and more…

Thanks in advance for your co-operation. Your support in the Earth day activity will be highly appreciated.

Safety Assistance For Emergencies (SAFE); a leading voluntary organization born in Bangladesh protecting human lives, providing emergency medical aid to victims of any disaster and helping people avoid, prepare for, and cope with emergencies. Also strives to improve basic health, safety and environment issues in Bangladesh.

~story by Mikey Leung~

The Dhaka Project is one of those special projects that inspires hope, creates real change and works with some of the most disadvantaged children Bangladesh has to offer.

When Emirates flight attendant Maria Conceicao visited a slum near Zia International Airport, she decided she would change the future of the children she found there. Three years after the founding of the project, there are now two schools, a preschool, a nursery, a clinic, dentist, computer lab, science lab, and over 700 disadvantaged children getting an English medium education and two square meals a day.

Of course, none of these initiatives is possible without money, awareness and the helpful hand of so many people. Maria has worked tirelessly to raise the funds necessary to support her initiatives, and has been joined by volunteers from around the world to help her raise the funds and profile of the organisation. The project’s baseline funding is currently supplied by the Emirates Airline Foundation, although there is currently a new appeal out there for more funds for anybody who cares to support such initiatives.

Work like this is inspiring—the faces of so many children for whom this school represents the only chance to change their lives leaves a mark on your soul that you cannot forget.

For more information, please browse The Dhaka Project’s website, or have a look at volunteer Richard Fleming’s introduction via Youtube:

VSO Canada is proud to present “Brothel Justice” – a short documentary film based on the lives of women living and working in a brothel in Bangladesh. See how these women are breaking through social and political barriers to empower themselves and make change.

Brothel Justice is a public engagement component of SCORE : Strengthening Communities’ Rights and Empowerment, a joint project of VSO Canada and its partners along with VSO Bangladesh and its affiliate community-based organizations.

Join us and meet the filmmakers and other volunteers from the project. Hear from a panel of guest speakers about their own experiences working with vulnerable communities in developing countries, including volunteers who worked with the sex workers at the brothel featured in the film.

The screening dates are:

Toronto
Tuesday, March 25, 6:30pm
YMCA Metro
20 Grosvenor Street
Meet filmmaker Priya Ramu

Vancouver
Friday, March 28, 6:30pm
Vancouver English Centre
250 Smithe Street
Meet filmmaker Priya Ramu

Calgary
Monday, March 31, 6:30pm
SAIT, Orpheus Theatre
1301-16 Avenue NW
Meet filmmaker Dominique Keller

Ottawa
Wednesday, April 2, 6:30pm
Bronson Centre, Mac Hall
211 Bronson Avenue
Meet photographer Monique Kilrane

Meet the Brothel Justice Team:
Dominique Keller (second from left)
Dominique’s first film Kilimanjaro the Journey found her training two women to mountain climb and then following them to the top of Africa’s tallest peak. Her second short film CEA, was selected as a top ten Alberta short and nominated for three Alberta Motion picture awards. Her latest film Aboriginality premiered at the Imaginative film festival and headlined the Banff Summer Arts festival. Her awards include a CTV fellowship and AMPIA mentorship with Joe Media Group.

Priya Ramu (depicted above, left)
What a journey it’s been for Priya, from hosting a radio show in Vancouver for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to working on a documentary in Bangladesh. She has worked with the World University Services of Canada (WUSC), examining the issues of empowerment and self-determination of women in Morocco. In addition to volunteering with VSO, she has also volunteered for numerous women’s organizations in Canada, including WAVAW, Women Against Violence Against Women, and chairs the Board of PIRS (Pacific Immigrant Resources Society), an organization which provides literacy programs for immigrant women.

Monique Kirane
Monique is currently doing graduate studies in international law at Ottawa University. She has traveled extensively, working in the British Isles and Europe and volunteering in various places including the Dominican Republic and Morocco as well as at home in Canada. As a VSO volunteer, she spent six months in Dhaka, Bangladesh, working as a research advisor. Her experiences there lead her to produce a photo exhibition which was presented in Ottawa in the fall of 2007 with support from VSO Canada. The exhibit entitled “The Gold of Bengal” highlighted the heart, beauty and resilience of the Bengali people.

VSO is thankful to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for their funding support of the film. VSO also wishes to thank our program partners for their active support in bringing about this documentary project and these events across Canada.

Volunteering in Bangladesh: A Slideshow Presentation by travel journalists Mikey Leung and Belinda Meggitt
7:30pm, November 8, 2007 – Travel Bug Bookstore, Vancouver
3065 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

***Latest: we now have over 30 registered attendees to the event.. if you’re interested in coming, please RSVP soon!

Photo by Belinda Meggitt. See more photos here.

What’s it like to volunteer in one of the world’s poorest, most densely populated countries? Not as difficult as one might like to imagine.

For Belinda Meggitt and Mikey Leung, the experience was inspiring, invigorating and life-changing. Bangladesh, a country better known for its devastating floods, intractable corruption and intense poverty, is in fact a beautiful and verdant nation rich with history and literature. For what they might lack in material possessions, Bengali people make up for with unforgettable and legendary hospitality.

On the evening of Thursday, Nov. 8, the travelling couple will present a set of their photographs from the country and talk about one of travel’s last frontiers—one that may soon be underwater because of climate change. They will also have photographs and designer handicrafts from the Desh for sale. Finally, Mikey and Belinda are also inviting members from the Greater Vancouver Bangladesh Cultural Association to attend.

All Travel Bug Bookstore slideshows and presentations are free of charge, but it is necessary to reserve seating. Please call (604)737-1122 for reservations, or send an email to info@NOSPAMtravelbugbooks.ca. (Please remove the “REMOVETHISFORSPAM” message!).

Mikey Leung and Belinda Meggitt are travel journalists based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The couple originally travelled to Bangladesh as volunteers (Mikey for Voluntary Service Overseas; Belinda for the Australian Youth Ambassadors of Development). They are currently researching a new Bradt travel guide to the country.

Click on the thumbnail to see the event flyer: