Today, I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning - the haze that had been around for the few days had disappeared.
We left Khulner this morning, first taking a rick-shaw ride down to the river, which was a nice gentle, although slightly bumpy, way to start the day. Even though it was early, Khulner was already alive with people and traffic [and by traffic I mean rick-shaws and electric rick-shaws].
At the river I, and the other passengers waiting to catch the MAF flight, got on a wooden motor boat, which had seen better days and which had just been washed in river water.
This last point may not seem significant, except that the river is extremely dirty and polluted and, looking at the river bank, I suspect that it is full of sewage!!!
So I sat down rather gingerly on the boat. Anyway, having said that the boat trip down the river to meet the MAF plane was extremely pleasant. There were children on the river banks waving as we went by - I'm getting quite good at doing a 'royal' wave! There were also people washing themselves in the river, people washing clothes in the vast expanse of dirty water, as well as cattle drinking water.
When we arrved at the MAF plane meeting point, there were many armed policemen - which was slightly disconcerting to say the least, until we discovered that they were waiting to meet some people from the UN who were travelling with MAF on the incoming flight.
As we sat on the boat under the shade of a tree waiting, out of the cloudless blue sky a silver shape appeared - it really is an amazing spectacle to watch the MAF plane fly in and land so seemingly effortlessly on the river - a spray of water following behind.
So, within the space of an hour I had gone from travelling in the most basic form of transport to the most sophisticated - its just so surreal.
I'm now in Barisal and have had an extremely full day visiting MAF's partner projects - there are some truly amazing things going on this wonderful country, and I've met yet more dedicated and inspirational people.
I need to collect my thoughts on today, before I travel to the Shunderbans area tomorrow.
- Carolyn
Tuesday 22 November 2011
What a day! We stayed in Khulner overnight and have spent the whole day visiting partner projects.
Khulner is the third largest city in Bangladesh after Dakha and Chittagong. It has the largest number of electric cars [tuk-tuks] in Bangladesh. Not sure why. They're quite interesting to travel in - no sides and I clung to one of the roof bars for safety. Best way to describe it is its like travelling on a road in a dodgem!!
Otherwise Khulner is not that dissimilar to Dakha in terms of sights and sounds and smells!
Although there's some very odd statues in the middle of town - giant shrimps! Quite literally!!!
The projects we visited today were just wonderful and truly inspirational - each making a difference to those who are most vulnerable in society.
We went to visit a school and a healthcare project helping Mums and babies. There's far more to these projects than I could possibly write here just now, but amongst all the extreme hardship and heartbreaking stories - I take away from today a message of hope; happy children who've been given the opportunity for a better future, and vulnerable Mums and babies receiving vital help and support.
Khulner is the third largest city in Bangladesh after Dakha and Chittagong. It has the largest number of electric cars [tuk-tuks] in Bangladesh. Not sure why. They're quite interesting to travel in - no sides and I clung to one of the roof bars for safety. Best way to describe it is its like travelling on a road in a dodgem!!
Otherwise Khulner is not that dissimilar to Dakha in terms of sights and sounds and smells!
Although there's some very odd statues in the middle of town - giant shrimps! Quite literally!!!
The projects we visited today were just wonderful and truly inspirational - each making a difference to those who are most vulnerable in society.
We went to visit a school and a healthcare project helping Mums and babies. There's far more to these projects than I could possibly write here just now, but amongst all the extreme hardship and heartbreaking stories - I take away from today a message of hope; happy children who've been given the opportunity for a better future, and vulnerable Mums and babies receiving vital help and support.
Monday 21 November 2011
Well, what a journey we had this morning! Set off for Khulner from Patuakhali by bus - yes one of the battered old buses which I've been watching all week!
What an experience!!! As yesterday, the idea was to show me exactly what its like to travel overland if there's no maf plane.
And I really do get the idea!! The bus became more and more packed along the way. There were people vomitting, spitting etc, people carrying live chickens by their legs. The lady sitting to the side of me was sitting so unnecessarily close that i could not move my leg or foot, despite repeated efforts to get her to move. She then decided to fall asleep on me and her whole body weight then fell on my poor legs!!
Only thing i can say is that she must have felt very comfortable sitting with me bearing in mind that i was a foreigner!
The journey was long, tiring and extremely bumpy. Because of the narrowness and state of disrepair of the roads, someone stood in the doorway to act as extra guide to the bus driver.
Everytime the bus stopped beggars would get on and people selling cucumbers [ready to eat]. There was also the car ferry across the river - all of which takes time.
Anyway, we're now safely in Khulner and ready to meet some of maf's partners.
Although it was a long and tiring journey, what i did get to experience was life in rural Bangladesh. Paddy fields galore interspersed with tin shacks, small villages strewn with litter, and so much water everywhere - makes you realise how vulnerable the country is to the frequent natural disasters and climate change.
What an experience!!! As yesterday, the idea was to show me exactly what its like to travel overland if there's no maf plane.
And I really do get the idea!! The bus became more and more packed along the way. There were people vomitting, spitting etc, people carrying live chickens by their legs. The lady sitting to the side of me was sitting so unnecessarily close that i could not move my leg or foot, despite repeated efforts to get her to move. She then decided to fall asleep on me and her whole body weight then fell on my poor legs!!
Only thing i can say is that she must have felt very comfortable sitting with me bearing in mind that i was a foreigner!
The journey was long, tiring and extremely bumpy. Because of the narrowness and state of disrepair of the roads, someone stood in the doorway to act as extra guide to the bus driver.
Everytime the bus stopped beggars would get on and people selling cucumbers [ready to eat]. There was also the car ferry across the river - all of which takes time.
Anyway, we're now safely in Khulner and ready to meet some of maf's partners.
Although it was a long and tiring journey, what i did get to experience was life in rural Bangladesh. Paddy fields galore interspersed with tin shacks, small villages strewn with litter, and so much water everywhere - makes you realise how vulnerable the country is to the frequent natural disasters and climate change.
Sunday 20 November 2011
Well I'm in the far south today about a mile inland from the Bay of Bengal. We flew down on the MAF float plane this morning. What struck me as we flew over the Bangladeshi countryside is not just how flat it is but even though its not the rainy season just how wet everything is.
But this is what makes MAF unique in Bangladesh is the ability to use that network of waterways to help those who would otherwise be completely isolated. And landing on the water was so smooth!
From the plane we were taken a short distance along the river by a very rickety boat [not sure what was holding the boat together?!] to the jetty and then by motorbike to the first project.
I feel that I'm fast becoming an experienced motorbike rider [but only side-saddle though!]
In fact that was very much the pattern of today visiting one project after another by motorbike. The idea was to show us just how hard it is to travel overland. It worked! The 'roads are pot-holed dirt tracks and in one place the road disappeared so we had to carry the bikes across the gap!
By the end of today I was hot, tired, dirty, and had the obligatory headache! So just in case anyone was in any doubt, MAF is much quicker and less tiring and stressful - definately a 'must' way to travel for our partners.
But today has been amazing. There's so much going on all around all the time, that its very difficult to take in and describe - all the different sights and sounds, the bright colours - oh and smells too, a heady mixture of rotting rubbish and smoke from fires and cooking!
The poverty is extreme - think I only saw one properly constructed home in the whole day. The 'houses' were mainly tin shacks with blue and white plastic sheeting for windows.
I've seen and experienced a whole raft of emotions today - but much of it laughter. From the joy of those waiting on the river bank to see the MAF plane land, to school children who'd prepared a special song for us - I've seen so many smiling faces today - its truely humbling.
But this is what makes MAF unique in Bangladesh is the ability to use that network of waterways to help those who would otherwise be completely isolated. And landing on the water was so smooth!
From the plane we were taken a short distance along the river by a very rickety boat [not sure what was holding the boat together?!] to the jetty and then by motorbike to the first project.
I feel that I'm fast becoming an experienced motorbike rider [but only side-saddle though!]
In fact that was very much the pattern of today visiting one project after another by motorbike. The idea was to show us just how hard it is to travel overland. It worked! The 'roads are pot-holed dirt tracks and in one place the road disappeared so we had to carry the bikes across the gap!
By the end of today I was hot, tired, dirty, and had the obligatory headache! So just in case anyone was in any doubt, MAF is much quicker and less tiring and stressful - definately a 'must' way to travel for our partners.
But today has been amazing. There's so much going on all around all the time, that its very difficult to take in and describe - all the different sights and sounds, the bright colours - oh and smells too, a heady mixture of rotting rubbish and smoke from fires and cooking!
The poverty is extreme - think I only saw one properly constructed home in the whole day. The 'houses' were mainly tin shacks with blue and white plastic sheeting for windows.
I've seen and experienced a whole raft of emotions today - but much of it laughter. From the joy of those waiting on the river bank to see the MAF plane land, to school children who'd prepared a special song for us - I've seen so many smiling faces today - its truely humbling.
Friday 18 November 2011
Friday is the equivalent of our Sunday in Bangladesh. So, this morning I went to church with Chad and Cyndi Tilley. The service is held at the American club - which sounds very grand, but essentially the clubs are a haven for expat staff living and working in Bangladesh. Its such a harsh country to be working in and there is nowhere for children to play outside in Dhaka as everyone lives in apartment blocks with no gardens. The clubs offer a little respite from every day life and provide somewhere safe for children to run around outside and burn off their excess energy.
Having spent the morning in the American club, any doubts I had about the realities of life for Bangladeshi's were brought swiftly down to earth this afternoon. I was taken on a tour of Dhaka to see the contrasts - but on a motorbike! And for those of you who may have thought I wasn't adventurous - let me dispel that myth now - as not only was I riding a motorbike (as a passenger), but side-saddle too (its the lady-like way to ride a motorbike)!
In all seriousness its a good way to see 'life' more closely! We rode through a 'settlement'. Falling down shacks, rotting rubbish, children sifting through piles of rubbish, small children collecting tin cans, mums and their tiny babies sitting on slatted boards which run across drainage ditches (at least I think its a drainage ditch - but it could very well have been something else!). Everything's so dirty and smelly, and the air is just thick with pollution.
Five minutes down the road and we rode straight into the garment workers rally - they're on strike at the moment over their working conditions. There was a big rally in Dhaka today and people were parading down the street with banners - much as they do in the UK, except it was a peaceful rally!!
Another five minutes down the road and we rode past the Bangladeshi premier's residence. The white stone wall, perfectly manicured green lawn, lead up to a magnificent building which you could just about make out in the distance. But even in the shadow of such buildings, there were make-shift tin shacks and I saw several people carrying handfuls of dead chickens!
It just brought home again the difference between the have's and have-not's. But I remember so well that the one thing I took home from my last trip was how those with so very little were so happy - its the one thing that stopped me from crying. And I will take the same sentiment away with me this time too - people smiling - greeting me with happy faces. Happy to try and share their limited knowledge of English, putting to shame my complete ignorance of Bangle!
As I reflect on today, I just need to go and check on my new found friend the gecko - who seems to be frequenting my bathroom!! It was a bit of a shock to find this creature in there just now, but as I gather they eat mosquito's I'm quite happy - and if it could tackle the cockroaches too then I'd be very pleased!!
Having spent the morning in the American club, any doubts I had about the realities of life for Bangladeshi's were brought swiftly down to earth this afternoon. I was taken on a tour of Dhaka to see the contrasts - but on a motorbike! And for those of you who may have thought I wasn't adventurous - let me dispel that myth now - as not only was I riding a motorbike (as a passenger), but side-saddle too (its the lady-like way to ride a motorbike)!
In all seriousness its a good way to see 'life' more closely! We rode through a 'settlement'. Falling down shacks, rotting rubbish, children sifting through piles of rubbish, small children collecting tin cans, mums and their tiny babies sitting on slatted boards which run across drainage ditches (at least I think its a drainage ditch - but it could very well have been something else!). Everything's so dirty and smelly, and the air is just thick with pollution.
Five minutes down the road and we rode straight into the garment workers rally - they're on strike at the moment over their working conditions. There was a big rally in Dhaka today and people were parading down the street with banners - much as they do in the UK, except it was a peaceful rally!!
Another five minutes down the road and we rode past the Bangladeshi premier's residence. The white stone wall, perfectly manicured green lawn, lead up to a magnificent building which you could just about make out in the distance. But even in the shadow of such buildings, there were make-shift tin shacks and I saw several people carrying handfuls of dead chickens!
It just brought home again the difference between the have's and have-not's. But I remember so well that the one thing I took home from my last trip was how those with so very little were so happy - its the one thing that stopped me from crying. And I will take the same sentiment away with me this time too - people smiling - greeting me with happy faces. Happy to try and share their limited knowledge of English, putting to shame my complete ignorance of Bangle!
As I reflect on today, I just need to go and check on my new found friend the gecko - who seems to be frequenting my bathroom!! It was a bit of a shock to find this creature in there just now, but as I gather they eat mosquito's I'm quite happy - and if it could tackle the cockroaches too then I'd be very pleased!!
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