April 3, 2011
Apologies for my virtual absence. I left all of my technology, shampoo and conditioner, and really, well everything in Bangladesh and snuck off to Nepal for two weeks. Our trek around the Annapurna Himalayan Range revealed the country to be even more breathtaking than any photo, and the people—both Nepalese and foreign trekkers—were some of the greatest I have met yet in my life. I urge any person, from 18 to anyone standing vertical, to book a flight as soon as possible if they find themselves in need of a change—externally or internally. It is corny and perhaps cliché at this point in time, but the mountains really have something to offer. One new friend on the trail told Kelly and I a story about a friend of theirs who had been suffering under severe depression for over 2 years. The man’s doctor apparently advised that he simply fly to Nepal and spend a few weeks there, and that was the extent of the instruction. Boldly following the doctor’s seemingly rash advice the man followed suit, and it was said that after only 3 days on the trail his heart and mind were lifted, and he came home a happy man.
I believe it. I arrived there an already happy person and yet I too found myself in states of calm and unforced introspection, where a 6 hour leg of a trek would fly by seemingly in moments. Nepal was really a place of mental clarity and simple pleasures, so if you’re a person seeking both, go.
Anyways, Kelly and I are back in Bangladesh to resume our work at Grameen and are scheduled to begin a basic training program tomorrow. My love affair with the fresh air of Nepal had to come to an end, and I dreaded the arrival in Dhaka. The airport greeted us with an even hotter and stickier temperature than when we initially landed, and within hours I developed chicken-pox status mosquito bites all over my body which have consumed the loads of tiger balm that we brought back from Kathmandu. Despite this, I am really happy to be back in Bangladesh and I’m truly looking forward to the work ahead. It was nice to dip out for a while but I feel guilty to have taken time off from why we’re really here. I just finished reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky, which is a brilliantly written honest examination into global poverty through the lens of women’s oppression. A quick Wikipedia search of the book may cast it off as a feminist ranting about women’s issues worldwide, but the book was so far from that. It actually just discussed various issues such as sex trafficking, maternal mortality and access to education with both personal stories from around the world, while also connecting them to the need for a larger movement worldwide to elevate half the world’s population as means of securing economic development in the future. I really think it is one of the best books I have ever read and it really captures the state of the world’s affairs in a mostly apolitical way that is refreshing.
After closing the book this afternoon I feel a whole new surge of excitement about being in Bangladesh with Grameen, and also a coincidental pleasure with having set a new target for myself only 2 weeks earlier. While on a boat in the southern part of Bangladesh I have finally had a firm revelation about what poverty-related issue I feel most worthy to dedicate a life to, after struggling with the sheer velocity of issues since I was fourteen. I want to find a way to use the social business model to battle the gender gap in access and quality of education across the developing world. Most education based programs have been consistently non profits which has prevented them from reaching scale and diversifying their services. Over the past two years in my studies and fieldwork I have really begun to see education and women’s empowerment as a key link to both family and regional development, with so many external benefits that themselves relate to everything from female genital cutting to human trafficking. The irony comes from the fact that this random book I dug out of my suitcase speaks to all of these convictions I have had in my head, only days after I made this declaration out loud. It has come at a perfect time as I can pour myself into the basic training this next month with the aim of learning the exact methodology of Grameen’s microfinance, which has become such a key tool of women’s empowerment in the last few decades. However I do not believe in solely offering microcredit schemes, even if they have such great products as Grameen’s Higher Education Loans. Therefore, after basic training, I have two months left to decide what I want to aim the rest of my internship towards, which I have decided I will intern at the Yunus Centre for Social Business on the 16th floor and begin consulting with the staff on thoughts about different education models. It is one of the most important things to get right and deals with some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
I am achingly excited to get back into the field and engage with the borrowers and their families, especially if our marvelous translator Matin from before is able to accompany us. It feels like it has been months since we spent that week with him in Netrokona, and it honestly feels like I’m missing a longtime friend. It’s really humorous and comforting how quickly strangers can become so important to you. Childhood friends are treasures, but sometimes the greatest lessons and experiences come from meeting someone for a mere 20 minutes.
unfortunately my internet is too shaky to upload enough pictures to even begin showing how beautiful Nepal is. However here is a few that capture some of what we did.
One of the most serene places I've been to--Pokhara
No comments:
Post a Comment