TOTO Bangladesh
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Sharna Bremner
Outreach Blogger
9 June 2010
Today was a momentous day. After much planning, some lengthy discussions and some minor hiccups, the ActionAid Bangladesh blog went live.
It might not seem that exciting to any of you, but for us and the ActionAid staff, it was roughly the equivalent of Australia winning the World Cup. Or for the Bangladeshi’s, it was the equivalent of Brazil or Argentina winning the Cup.
Not only does ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) now have an amazing blog where you can follow projects such as one of the Happy Home’s or the innovative Community Journalist Group’s, but they also have a Twitter account. Yep, the gang at AAB will now be tweeting, blogging and taking over the world, one social media outlet at a time.
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Tags: Actionaid Bangladesh, Bangladesh, curry, laugh, poverty, rickshaw, smile, weather
Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
8 June 2010
Just polished off most mouth-watering fish curry at a charming spot in Dhaka’s northern suburb of Gulshan. Inside restaurant it’s cool and calm.
Upper class locals sit around and talk shop, squishing curry into balls and popping them into their mouths. A giant plastic capsicum dangles above our heads with total indifference.
It’s a picture of dignified serenity.
Then we step outside and chaos descends.
Sharna talked about it last night in her post, but it’s something I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to so I’ll describe the scene. Night lights reflect off an endless sea of traffic – an insane kaleidoscope of shimmering colour.
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Tags: actionaid australia, Actionaid Bangladesh Blog, Bangladesh, blogging, human rights, inequality, poverty, Proect TOTO, Sharna Bremner
Sharna Bremner
Outreach Blogger
7 June 2010
It took almost 11 months, 3 challenges, 3 flights and nearly 24 hours of travelling but we’re finally here in the craziness that is Dhaka.
We’re now at the end of our second day in Bangladesh and I thought I’d share some of the things we’ve learnt so far.
- Joel and I are almost honorary Bangladeshi’s. Well, our names are. Joel is pretty close to the name that would be pronounced ‘Jewel’ and Sharna means golden. Yes, from now on, we shall be called Golden and Precious Stone.
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Tags: Actionaid Bangladesh, blogging, Dhaka, Dude, Golden, Jewel, kids, Milk, poverty, project toto
Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
5 June 2010
It’s been a long time coming, but Sharna and I have finally arrived in Dhaka, as part of Actionaid’s Project TOTO. Crazy tired – like the worn-out, washed-up boxer in Martin Scorsese’s classic Raging Bull, which, oddly, was on last night’s in-flight entertainment.
With a quick layover in Singapore’s heavenly airport, I duck into the men’s, and what’s this – has the turbulence-heavy, sleep-deprived trip over given me visions? The word ‘TOTO’ magically appears before me, in gold lettering across the top of the toilet.
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Tags: Bangladesh, Dhaka, fire, Joel Katz, Proect TOTO, Sharna Bremner, Singapore, toilets
Sharna Bremner
Outreach Blogger
2 June 2010
Those who know me will tell you that I’m not really a kid person. Sure, they can be cute, but I personally prefer teenagers or adults. Kids are loud and they often have sticky hands for some reason. As for babies… Well, they make me nervous. They’re so tiny and delicate and you can’t tell what they’re thinking which, quite frankly, scares me a little bit.
Recently, however, I’ve discovered something a little worrying. It seems that maybe Whitney Houston was actually right. (That in itself is a scary thought.) Maybe children really are our future. Sometimes, kids just get it, no matter what it is.
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Tags: aid, Australia, Bangladesh, blogging, internet, kids, poverty, project toto
Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
31st May 2010
Sitting in a Sydney café, bundled up in jacket and scarf, as the icy rain pelts down outside. Light flickers from my laptop’s shimmering screen – the only warmth on this drabbest of days. Locals shuffle past, musing on what shade of pink Mat Preston’s pants will be tonight on MasterChef, and if they’ll match his cravat.
Hmm… food for thought, and really does help us through these dreary winter days.
But wait. Suddenly it hits me with the force of a rapidly descending mini-grand piano landing on my head that Sharna and I will be in face-meltingly hot Dhaka in a matter of days. Our realities will be up-ended, like a flipped Chapati frying in a Bangladeshi street stall.
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Tags: Actionaid Bangladesh, Bangladesh, blogging, Dhaka, MasterChef, outreach blogger, social media, winter
Sharna Bremner
Outreach Blogger
26 May 2010
As our departure date draws ever-closer, I think it’s fair to say that preparations are in full swing. For me, this meant a trip to Sydney for training at the ActionAid offices. Complete with a 6.45 a.m. flight out of Adelaide. Yikes.
Joel and I were provided with a mind-blowing amount of information, and I want to give a huge shout out to the ActionAid staff for their help, advice and well-wishes, especially Mark for his never-ending enthusiasm (and for not losing his voice despite talking all day!), Kaetlyn for her many tips which will no doubt be invaluable, and to CEO Archie Law for taking the time to have a chat and wish us luck.
Part of the journey we’re currently undertaking includes media interviews, which for me meant an interview and a photoshoot with The Advertiser. I picked up a copy of Tuesday’s issue, hoping to see an article on Project TOTO, accompanied by a not-so-flattering photo of yours truly, but instead saw an article regarding Australia’s foreign aid program. Now, while I agree with some of the content in the article, I was struck by the title that featured a few pages in: “The millions we waste on foreign aid”.
Ummm… What?
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Tags: actionaid, AusAID, outreach blog, poverty, project toto
Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
23 May 2010
Kind of embarrassing, but I’m a lonely planet guy. You’ll see my kind everywhere, guide-books glued to our faces, tripping over roosters and small children as we backpack around the globe. Phrase for “is this rash serious” in Estonian? Check language chapter. Best way to treat diarrhea in Bali? Check health chapter… quickly!
It’s a cop-out I know, but it’s so user-friendly and informative. So in the lead-up to our TOTO posting in Bangladesh, I’ve snagged one of these popular travel guides, and I’m brushing up on all things Bengali.
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Tags: Bangladesh, Bangladeshi history, blogging, Ganges River, Islam, Lonely Planet, poverty, project toto
Sharna Bremner
Outreach Blogger
20 May 2010
In my first pre-departure TOTO blog, I want to thank the magic that is the World Wide Web. With just three weeks to go before Joel and I jet off to Bangladesh, my life has become a flurry of vaccinations, preparations, nerves, excitement and a never-ending stream of university work that must be completed before I leave.
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Tags: Bangladesh, blogging, outreach blogger, social media
Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
20 May 2010
Bangladesh here we come! In just a few weeks we’ll be arriving in Dhaka as the next Outreach Bloggers, and I’m doing some rigorous pre-departure research to get a feel for the place.
That’s right – like every expert in the field, I Google it.
First site that pops up: Wikipedia. “Pffft…Skip that.”
Second site is the CIA World Factbook. Sounds kind of conspiratorial, but let’s have a squiz anyway.
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Tags: Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, blogging, Ganges River, outreach blogger, poverty, project toto, social media
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