Back in concrete jungle with the cool kids…

Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
14 June 2010

After so many days beavering away in the Actionaid office in downtown Dhaka, working with AA Bangladesh’s dream team to get their blog up and running, we’re finally out in the field.

Yesterday, literally. Today – more concrete jungle, than lush cane fields. Oh rural Bangladesh, how I miss thee.

But I digress. Mind’s drifting back to the serenity. Oh the serenity…

Today we hop in van with Hasan, Amir and Towfic – los tres amigos Bangladeshi, and take off for Mohammadpur, in the city’s west. We were here last week for the dusty but thrilling 1Goal soccer match.

We arrive at the office and, as usual, a very formal setting awaits – like King Arthur’s round table, but kids instead of knights. We’re meeting with the Community Journalist’s Group (CJG). Sharna talked about CJGs yesterday, and it’s an awesome initiative.

Professional journalists, some from Bangladesh’s biggest papers, lend their time to work with teenagers, parents, teachers and other community workers. Mostly their job is to collect stories for biannual updates to send back to the kids’ sponsors over in UK, Sweden and other European countries.

But now – lucky guys – their role’s expanded, thanks partially to Project TOTO. Sorry guys. With the new blog portal we’ve just set up with AA Bangladesh, mentors will also be posting stories, images and video right in the development areas. Already talked about the huge scope of this project – not only to create stronger ties with existing sponsors, but to cultivate new ones, potentially even in Australia.

So it’s a sober start as normal. We notice the teenagers from the 1Goal match last week, but everyone’s being very demur. Then the maestro, Hasan, waves his baton, and all have joined the chorus. Amir is there snapping away like crazy, capturing the moments like only he can. And cool-headed Towfic translates from Bengali with such subtle touches it’s like he’s channeling William Blake, who is his favourite poet. Who’s William Blake?

I feel stupid.

The CJG members start reading stories about their lives. These are to be posted on the blog for a global audience, and can be about whatever they like. We go around the table and a dozen teenagers and one adult read out loud, and these tales ain’t short. They recount their stories boldly, and the AA guys translate as we go along.

Fourteen year old Masum tells us that his mother had complications during pregnancy with his sister. His dad couldn’t afford to pay for the hospital bills and got into serious debt. This meant that Masum could no longer go to school. He explains that community support programs and AA means now he can go back and get a good education. He smiles brightly.

Pushpo, also 14 years old, and a plucky girl talks of her love of sport. In Bangladesh girls are often discouraged from playing sport. If you’d seen this future Brazilian World Cup striker play last week, you’d know this girl is a true athlete. She explains that the 1Goal match gives her hope that she can one day become a professional sportswoman.

Then one of the CJG guys, who’s maybe in his 20s, starts his story. It’s in Bengali, so until it’s translated, we have no idea. Then he stops short. Room’s silent. A very long pause and his eyes well up with tears. He can’t finish his story, so one of the community leaders does.

We discover that this fresh-faced guy almost died from cancer. A cyst developed after a cricket accident, and he was sure that was it. Thank god the treatment worked. Just shows that to these stories, everyone, no matter from where, can relate.

After lunch we head to computer and show the CJG guys how the blogs work. There’s real excitement as we post the first blog for DA2. Claps and smiles all round.

Training day in Mohammedpur with the CJG guys. Kids make fun of us for 0-4 drubbing of Australia by Germany last night. We’re Austrargentinian, we insist…

Next it’s off to an AA-sponsored women’s community support group nearby. It’s really poor here, and the surrounding slums are swimming in a pool of sewage. Again we’re met by a circle of passive faces and vibrant saris. Once Sharna and I mention that we have partners, we all become steadfast friends. A photo of my girlfriend’s passed around and there’s applause.

He got her? Now that’s clap-worthy.

With beaming faces, the women are gorgeous. They talk about the small loans that have changed their lives. One lady invested in a catering company, another in two cows. They’re now reaping the benefits, and although their monthly incomes are still tiny, they’re much more than ever before. You can see the pride in their faces as they talk. They have drive and ambition, a new lease on life, and respect in their community.

We finish the day snacking on plates heaped with assorted mango chunks at Hasan’s pad, with his lovely wife, daughter and Amir. Been another exhausting but amazing day.

Learn more about ActionAid and Project TOTO:

• ActionAid Australia website
• ActionAid Australia on Twitter
• ActionAid Bangladesh Blog
• ActionAid Bangladesh on Twitter
• Joel Katz profile
• Sharna Bremner profile