SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2023: February 19

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 18

February 18, 2024

Bengali music is based on a very long tradition of religious and secular song-writing and it spans a wide variety of styles. We were fortunate to experience several music demonstrations and we even had a Rotarian serenade us with his bamboo flute.

I found the traditional musical instruments to be most intriguing. They are so vital to the unique sounds of Bengali music. As well as the bamboo flute, the harmonium (a reed organ similar to an accordion), tabla (hand drums), and the ektara and dotara (single and double - stringed lutes) added haunting and delightful sounds to the vocals.

Combine this music with traditional dance, colourful saris and beautiful talented girls and you have an unforgettable experience.

It seemed there was always music somewhere - the jingling bells on the rickshaws, the call to prayer from the mosques, our groups singing in the van. And then, of course, the sound of excited children laughing and playing. This was the best music of all!

Team Bangladesh, 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 17

February 17, 2024

This morning, we travelled to distribute kits at a school run by the non-profit Jaago Foundation started in 2007 by a Bangladeshi, Korvi Rakshand, who was only 25 years of age at that time. It is dedicated to providing quality education and social development opportunities to children and communities.

The children were from the local farming community and the school is located in a very rural setting. We were told that for many they are the first generation in their family to attend school. They had school uniforms and are learning English. We heard many, "How are you? I am fine" and "Thank you". We really enjoyed the opportunity to meet these beautiful children and their teachers in this calm, peaceful setting.

We looked in their classrooms and saw their art work including drawings that depicted scenes from the Guerilla War in 1971 when 3 million died. The 26th of March became their Independence Day and the 16th of December is celebrated as Victory Day every year.

Before we left we watched the children leaving happily carrying their new bedkits to their waiting parents. It was another successful distribution.

Team Bangladesh, 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 15

February 15, 2024

Today we had the unexpected pleasure of a distribution in another Santal tribal village. We didn’t find out about this until all the luggage was packed for our travel/rest day . . . too late to change into our Sleeping Children shirts. Onward we went.

The site was a great choice as it was near a church and this compound also included a medical clinic where about 40 people appear daily.

The setup was no problem but again the road did not accommodate the bedkit delivery truck. No problem for our partners. They hired a flatbed pulled by farm vehicles to shuttle the bedkits from the truck to the site.

After completion we visited two houses belonging to people in the village. The houses are constructed of mud with walls a foot thick. This makes a warm home for winter and a comfortable cool home for summer. There’s an interior courtyard where the cooking is done, the chickens roam and, in one case, a cow had her own space.

Later today we stopped at the imposing Rangpur Museum. This was originally built in the early 20th century for the royal family who were emigrating from the Punjab. The owner was a jeweller by profession. After Partition the building was taken over by the government of Bangladesh.

We were amused to find that we had to pay a foreigner's entrance fee of 400 Takas but locals pay only 30 Takas and Indian tourists pay 200 Takas!!

Inside we weren't allowed to take photos but we saw some stained glass windows, carved columns and 15th century black stone scriptures engraved in Arabic and Persian as well as many terra cotta pieces found during archeological digs.

The gardens also had some colourful flowers.

We left, having enjoyed our brief but interesting visit, to resume our journey back in time for supper. Thus ended another successful day with only 2250 bedkits remaining to be distributed.

Team Bangladesh, 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 14

February 14, 2024

It is technically the winter season here in Bangladesh and everywhere is dusty and dry. The monsoons will arrive in about 4 months and then we are told the landscape will become a lush and verdant green with new growth.

Temperatures now are a comfortable 26 degrees during the day and cooling down to around 16 at night. Most days start with some morning haze and then turn sunny and warm. Consequently, we are able to see and enjoy some flowers in bloom here now that we would normally grow during the summer in Canada, including marigolds, roses and dahlias. They give us occasional splashes of colour as we travel along the roads and country lanes en route to our distribution sites each day.

Team Bangladesh, 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 13

February 13, 2024

Today’s distribution was quite close to where we are staying. It was only a short drive onto a narrow street to the distribution site, a girl's school. We got set up for photos and then the adventure started.

The delivery truck had a dead battery which was eventually resolved by a couple of young people with a battery and jumper cables. The truck was now on the way to us. When it went to turn onto the street there was a stack of bricks in the road. Even though the bricks were moved the corner was too tight, so the truck had to go in the other direction. Another stack of bricks had to be moved. Then there were low wires - electrical, phone and cable - all to be lifted with bamboo poles to enable the truck to pass. They were working their way toward us when they took down an electrical line to a house. The rather upset homeowner had them fix the wire before the truck moved on. We felt great joy when they arrived at the distribution site after a two-hour adventure.

A great distribution followed the unloading of the bed kits and we soon saw the happy smiles of the children.

After arriving back from a successful distribution, our Rotary partners suggested we might like to visit a mosque. We loved the idea and quickly changed into long pants and head coverings and we were on our way. Half an hour later we arrived to Kusumba Mosque, a serene setting along the river. It has been called “the black gem” because of the black stone. It was built from 1558-59. It is recognized as a heritage site and is one of the oldest mosques.

The stone steps were used to access the court of justice which is still used today and the intricately hand carved patterns make it a very unique place to worship.

It was a perfect way to end a busy day.

Team Bangladesh, 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 11

February 12, 2024

A Day in the Life of a Bangladesh Distribution

Bedkits are unloaded and we are ready to start!

Denis and Joy arranging the children for their photo.

Jackie keeping track of the children while Judy marks their thumbs.

The children receive a snack bag from a volunteer.

Diane and Kim give each child the gift of a good night’s sleep.

The papparazzi
Team Bangladesh, 2024
Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 10

February 11, 2024

Today during our travels to our distribution we spotted many boats of similar design on posts and upon questioning we learned the following. In Bangladesh, a country with more than 700 rivers, it’s hardly surprising that the symbol of the dominant political party, the Awami League, is a boat - in this case, a traditional river craft with a high prow - the nouka. As in other developing countries, political symbols are important, especially in rural areas where literacy levels are lower than in the cities. Although urban areas are growing, two thirds of the population still live in rural areas. Voters may not be able to read a newspaper or a political poster, but they will recognize the party symbol.

To us, the boat also symbolized smooth sailing as this distribution was our best one yet. We worked like a well-oiled machine. The dedicated hard-working volunteers were an integral part of the day and of course the rewards were the smiles of the beautiful children.

Team Bangladesh, 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 9

February 9, 2024

We have had long hours on the road and a power/wifi outage so below are some snapshots of the last couple of days.

The weather is perfect! The temperature is around the low to mid 20s and there is no humidity.

The team split into two teams of four to cover two distribution sites. Yes . . . you guessed it . . . that led to some rivalry as to which was the better team! We each travelled about two hours and distributed in the neighbourhood of 330 bedkits. Believe it or not, we landed back at our guest-house within 10 minutes of each other so we decided it was a draw.

Mothers keeping a close eye on their little ones

We were on the road by mid-afternoon, heading to the second segment of the distribution. A three hour journey took almost five hours because our van was wedged under a bridge with transport trucks for a good hour while oncoming traffic had the right of way due to construction. The upside is we were able to sing along to the Bengali version of Jamaica Farewell.

We are looking forward to an early start in the morning and meeting 650 more sweet children. They are eager to engage with us and practice their English.

Team Bangladesh 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 7

February 7, 2024

Our journey today took us through many small bustling villages surrounded by farmland. The people work so hard planting and harvesting rice in field after field of rice paddies. What back-breaking work this must be. Bananas, dates, coconuts, oranges, melons and salad greens are among the types of produce seen growing in the fields and on the trees. Small bicycle rickshaws and wagons carry huge loads of bamboo and grain and firewood. Bricks are hand made and drying in the sun.

We arrived to a warm welcome, greeted by many Rotarians and a keen group of boy and girl scouts, many of whom volunteered to work alongside us for the day. The children and parents were sheltered under a huge colourful canopy while they waited for the photos to be taken.

When 650 children had been given the gift of a good night’s sleep, the school principal and local Rotarians served us a delicious lunch of rice, chicken, mutton and sautéed vegetables. Now we are ready for a good night’s sleep as well!

Team Bangladesh 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

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SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 6

February 6, 2024

Today we had a bright and early start with breakfast and a team meeting prior to our pre-distribution meeting at noon with our Rotary partners.

What a joy to see how carefully $40 has been invested and spent on the bedkit items. Rotary was proud to explain their laddered investment approach and how the interest earned enabled them to acquire more items for the bedkits.

Finally we are packed and ready to hit the road for our first distribution destination. En route we were treated to lovely flute music by Amida.

Following a five hour drive our teams settled into our rooms, grabbed a quick bite and started on the prep for tomorrow.

The team evaluating bedkits and practicing set-up for tomorrow.

We can hardly wait to meet the first 650 children and have been practicing our limited Bengali and hand puppet antics. The one word we all know is,"Hasho!" (Smile)

Team Bangladesh 2024

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

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SCAW Blog: Bangladesh, 2024: February 5

February 5, 2024

We logged over 20 hours of flying but we arrived safely to a warm welcome by the Rotary Club of Dhaka.

We're overdue for a good night's sleep and since it's now about 3 a.m. that’s exactly what we're about to do.

We are exhausted but exhilarated and raring to get started on those 8,000 bedkits.

Stay tuned . . .

Linda Webb

Rotary Club of Dhaka 🇧🇩 and SCAW 🇨🇦

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