leftovers

2007-12-15T18:21:00.000+06:00

Stuck in Kathmandu
I am stuck in Kathmandu. After spending 2 days at the airport, I am getting a bit anxious I will never fly out of here. If it was pokhara, i would be a bit calmer as I would just head back to my yoga retreat and om away and perfect my chicken nose clearing dance!
I think sexism has reared its ugly head as the only 3 females trying to board the flight back to dhaka were rejected, even though we had valid tickets. I tried being calm- it didn't help. I tried getting angry- the guy walked away from me, so who knows how much longer i will be here. At least i made a lovely nepalese friend. She introduced me to a few local dishes, like buffalo last night. Will I be third time lucky tomorrow? If worse comes to worse I will bus out via India if i can get a transit visa.

2007-11-29T09:29:00.001+06:00

Razu
On my first day with the children I tried to visit Razu at his old centre, only to find he was not there. Luckily the staff were able to direct me to his new centre. There at another NGO for street children, Inceden, I found many of my old favourite kids, including Razu.

Later that day Razu told me that he had TB. He is getting treatment (He is 3 months into his 6 month DOTs program). It was such a shock, I was hoping that I had misunderstood our conversation, my Bengali being rusty and all. On my next visit I asked the staff who said his health was fine, but yesterday his TB status was confirmed by a friend of Razu's. I think Razu is anxious as Polly (one of the other 6 kids in the visible project) died from TB just over a year ago. Hopefully this is making him compliant with taking his tablets. As if he misses a single day he must start the treatment from scratch, and is more likely to build resistance.

Lovely
Loevly is still working at the same beauty parlour as when I left and is doing well. She works everyday - only gets one day off a month. She receives free accomodation and meals and gets paid about $30 per month. This is pretty good by Bangladesh standards. It would be even better if her estranged mother didn't turn up at the parlour every month and demand that she hand over 2/3 of her salary. Poor Lovely is left with less than $10 a month for spending money.

Yesterday Razu, Lovely and I had a lovely outing to Dhanmondi, went to a cafe, saw some photo exhibitions, met up with their old photography teacher from the visible project and went to a night festival to raise money for the recent cyclone.

2007-11-29T09:23:00.001+06:00

Visible Eyes
Through the kind donations of friends, I am arranging for 150 of the street children at my old NGO to get their eyes tested. If a child has poor vision they are less likely to participate in education and especially for the working children of the NGO are then more likely to be susceptible to injury. We will be testing the children's eyes and treating any eye diseases and providing glasses for all children that need them.

2007-11-29T09:11:00.000+06:00

Back In Bangers
I have been back for a week. I have managed to break all sorts of records from losing my new sim card the day I arrived to getting gastro on my 4th day here- no more lassi's for me.

The kids have all been amazing. They were all so excited to see me. It has been hard trying to see them all as they are more dispersed than ever around different centres. I am meeting new kids all the time who want the same attention as the ones I have known for so long. There has n't been as much time to play games and do all the fun stuff I was hoping.

I saw my little kids from the head office the other day and that was very special. They are all growing up so fast.

2007-07-06T18:19:00.000+06:00

A Box of chocolates
Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates, you just don't know which one you gonna get! (Forrest Gump)
I am still in sydney and not quite sure where I am headed next.
I just finished my masters yay!. I have a job, yay! But I am not sure where I am headed.
Back to Bangladesh? Melbourne? Northern Territory? Canberra? Another overseas destination or stay in Sydney? I am looking for a job in community development but not sure exactly what I'll get. I want the one with gooey caramel inside that tastes like a caramello koala but what you want is not always what you get. After working all day in front of a computer its time to work with people again. I miss my kids in Bangladesh and I think of them everyday. I can't wait to see them again soon even if just for a brief visit.

2007-03-14T11:41:00.000+06:00

Aber Asbo Bangladesh, I will come again.
I said goodbye to Bangladesh last week. It was very sad. I will miss my kids most of all plus all the random beautiful people I met along the way. A big piece of my heart is still there and I plan to go back next year for a visit. My boys always walk with me and wait for me to catch my transport home, but not on my last day. We were all too sad. They managed to cheer me up though by calling me on the way to the airport. Here are some of the things I will miss about Bangladesh.

My boys from one of the centres, pictured on a rickshaw. I will also miss the rickshaws, a very easy, convenient, cheap and environmentally friendly way to get around.

My girls who would call me "upa" big sister and bang on my office window until I would run out to see them.

All the staff from SCDP program, here pictured at my farewell.

The supercheap tea stalls and their friendly staff.

The beauty parlour across from my house, no more pedicures, manicures, threading of my eyebrows, yoghurt hair treatments and hot oil hair massages, not that it stopped my hair falling out.

The corner shop who always remembered what I wanted to buy.

The fresh veggie stalls outside our house.

Our friendly helper Mugless, who always had a smile on his face.

Our apartments' guard Jalal who never complained when we woke him at 1 or 2 or 3am every Thursday night. He bought us some beautiful flowers when we left.

The high security surrounding our house. We lived in the same street as the opposition leader.

All the bargain shopping at New Market.

My adopted bangla mum and dad.

The beautiful boys and girls selling popcorn and flowers at the major intersections.

My Mirzapur and all my friends and Bangla family there.

My two friends Raju and Saddam from ARISE program.

My friend from work Mala and all her chicken roast dinners.

My friend Salma, teacher of my favourite class.

Our crazy Thursday nights at the aussie club.

More of the gang at the aussie club.

The parties and uncle Doug.

The embassy "open bar" functions.

and then Promida and Richard, fuscha, mango cafe and their tasty lassies plus much much more.

2007-03-07T10:49:00.000+06:00

Ten Pin Bowling
I took all the night shelter kids, the ones who live at the centres without parents ten pin bowling. Thanks to UNSW ISS staff and students who raised money via a bbq to cover the cost of the day. The kids and staff had never been bowling before. The bowling centre kindly gave me half price games and food.
The school teacher in me put the kids into teams so they could play a few games but that plan went out the window becuase as soon as the kids saw what bowling was about they couldn't control themselves, everyone wanted to have a go..and all at the same time. Some of the kids did what came naturally and carried the heavy ball on their heads. We had a great day dancing, playing snooker and the kids got to taste chinese food.

2007-03-05T10:32:00.000+06:00

Excursion to the Zoo
Last week I took my favourite little kiddies to the zoo as they seldom get a day out. It was also a great last day to spend with them. They were so excited, they dressed up in their best clothes. When I arrived to meet them they came running from all different directions and attacked me with hugs.
On the way in our minivan the kids were so happy they couldn't stop singing. I had to rescue a few kids who had jumped over the fences to get closer to the animals. The Bengal tigers were busy munching on some meat and were kept indoors after they had attacked a worker the week before. We left at the end of the day with all kids accounted for and all their fingers and toes.

2007-03-03T23:08:00.000+06:00

Shundor Jewellery
Shundor means Beautiful in Bengali. I have been working on a jewellery making project for the girls at my drop in centres. The girls are aged between 10- 15 years and have run away from home due to abuse or poverty. If it wasn’t for our centres the girls would be living on the street, or employed as domestic help or sex workers.

Domestic helpers here in Bangladesh have very little rights, They are often locked inside their employers homes and paid approx $20 a month or less. They cook and clean from early in the morning to late at night, receive hardly any holidays or other benefits and often sleep on the hard kitchen floor. There is a high rate of mental and physical abuse.There is also a high suicide or apparent suicide- rate of girls jumping from rooftops. Because of the location of their work, ie inside a family home it is a very hard industry to regulate and monitor.

Our girls at the centre lack long term vision and so have a high drop out rate from the vocational courses we put them through. I introduced the concept of making jewellery as it is quick and fast to learn and make and the girls seemed to like it. The project is an attempt to give the girls another skill and to supplement their income. The girls where have made the jewellery, the packaging and we have involved them in discussions about marketing techniques. Last week I sold some of their earrings and collected nearly $100- not bad for Bangladesh. The girls also enjoyed modeling and wearing the earrings. I will be selling some of the jewellery when I get back to Sydney shortly so you will be able to look beautiful too.

2007-02-15T08:59:00.000+06:00

Valentine's Day Feast! Apologies to the vegetarians
I had a date for Valentine's day with 20 boys and two chooks. I had promised to eat dinner with the boys and buy them chicken, a treat they rarely eat. I forgot that chicken is very fresh in Bangladesh. It's so fresh that the chicken sellers stroll the streets with live chooks in their hands yelling 'hot chicken'. My boys did all the gruesome killing, plucking and chopping. I didn't watch but could hear what was going on. Funnily enough I didn't feel like eating it afterwards- although I couldn't dissapoint the boys- who made me pose for this photo. Shaon, pictured above, spent a quarter of his daily income to buy me a rose. These boys are truely stealing my heart! Definetely my best V day ever.

2007-02-11T08:30:00.000+06:00

Aloongi's Water Castle
In Sydney you pay a fortune to live near the water. In Dhaka when you are poor you live on the water, cheaper rent. Aloongi the lovely child motivator who had the eye operation last year invited me to his home. He shares a room with his mother. His siblings live next door. The swamp directly below his house is visible through the gaps in the bamboo pole floor. Even though his family is poor, I as a guest was treated like a god and fed with lemonade, biscuits and my favourite dessert- piesh, a sweet rice pudding. I just hope that the current government in their 'let's knock down anything illegal' conquest doesn't knock down his home because to quote a famous Aussie film 'a man's home is his castle!'.

2007-02-05T23:39:00.000+06:00

Biswas Ijtema

The Tabligh Jamaat (a branch of Islam) of Bangladesh just hosted the second largest gathering of Muslim followers after the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Every year nearly 3 million people congregate to Tongi a small town on the outskirts of Dhaka. This includes 15,000 international guests. The Tabligh Jamaat are basically the hippies of Islam. They have a non-political stance and arrange social services like marriage of poor men and women free of cost. Their aim is to bring spiritual awakening to the world's Muslims. They focus on being good in this life in order to have a better afterlife.

Living in a Muslim country I thought I would share some info about Islam.

There are Five Pillars, or basic practices and beliefs of Islam:

Witness / Shahadah: Declaration that “there is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
Prayer / Salah: Prayer offered at five times during the day. Dhaka has a great speaker system, the prayer to call is heard all over the city- even from my bedroom at 5am.
Giving / Zakah: Giving to the poor.
Fasting /Sawm: Fasting during the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset, which includes abstaining from all food, drink and sexual activity.
Pilgrimage / Hajj: A pilgrimage to Mecca (the site of God’s revelation to Muhammad, and the sacrifice made by Abraham) for those who are physically and financially able.

Did you know? Islam is one of the Abrahamic family of faiths that also includes Judaism and Christianity. Muslims recognize Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other Biblical figures as part of this tradition.

2007-01-27T01:22:00.000+06:00

Almost Famous
There aren't many tourists or westerners here in Bangladesh. In fact the National Tourism Organization has the above slogan Visit Bangladesh before tourists come. This means that when westerners do come they have automatic celebrity status. Stares, cat calls, instant crowds forming around you, young men inviting you to tea, anyone inviting you to their house, autograph signing, phone number requests and camera posing are daily occurrences. So are an obsessive amount of daily missed calls and stalkers. I have my first serious stalker. "Jodi I am a very simple man aged 31 and I work as a govt officer. I saw you walking many times in the street. You look very beautiful specially your eyes, your hair. I managed your phone number many days ago. I decided many times to talk to you but can't coz fear to miss you." I have no idea who this man is or where he got my name and number from. Luckily I will soon be back in Sydney where I will be anonymous once again.

2007-01-14T12:41:00.000+06:00

State of Emergency in Cold Dhaka.

I returned from hot Goa at 36 °C to chilly Dhaka at 18°C during the day and even colder at night. As a lot of people sleep on the streets here many have sadly died due to the cold. I gave some of the kiddies some socks the other day to keep their feet warm at night.

On Thursday night a ‘state of emergency’ was declared in Bangladesh. We had a curfew of 11pm, according to the guards in my apartment anyone found on the streets after this time is shot - I later found out not shot but arrested. Now the curfew has been lifted but the state of emergency is still in force. This is because the country was about to be under a series of blockades once again to pressure the president to resign and postpone the 22nd Jan elections due to a dodgy electoral list. International pressure had mounted to postpone the elections, especially from big Bangladesh donors like European Commission and other nations. The president did resign and the elections have now been postponed. The state of emergency is while the country sorts itself out with a new leader and so the country doesn’t panic with further blockades that cause serious economic and social damage.

2007-01-04T14:03:00.000+06:00

Gorgeous Goa

Zia, Shane, Simon, Chris from San Fran, Clem, 3 Spaniards and I went to Goa for a week in the sun. We were staying in huts on the beach- it was pure magic. We spent most of our time lying on deck chairs on the beach, while we were delivered drinks and yummy brownies. Also did some shopping and partying in town. On our last night we were treated to some sitar music by a local musician. It was a great escape from the hustle and bustle of Dhaka.

2006-12-27T13:38:00.000+06:00

Mumbai Wedding

Kabir, my great friend Zia from Oz’s cousin was married while we were in Mumbai. He met his wife on shadi.com an indian dating website. Zia, Shane and her parents came to India for the wedding. It was a glitzy affair. The biggest wedding I have ever been to. We went along to 3 ceremonies. There were 2 ceremonies in Mumbai and 1 in Pune. We had lots of fun indeed.

2006-12-24T13:02:00.000+06:00

Mumbai Movie Stars
On our first morning in Mumbai Simon and I were scouted for our obvious talent as actors. We were chaperoned by our scout to film city about 90 minutes away from our hotel. We thought we were going to star in a film but it turned out to be a Bollywood soap opera called “ Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka” about a young married girl who in our scene went psycho and stole some jewels. Our scout presented us to the producers with a “will they do?“. Luckily we did do and we were given our characters' costumes (see photo of us on set above) and then our lines. Simon was acting as Richard and I was Delegate 2. My one line, my 2 seconds of fame was “wonderful designs!”.

2006-12-21T12:32:00.000+06:00

Simon Bhai Visits Dhaka

Shortly after mum left Dhaka Simon came to visit. The little and big kids loved Simon bhai (older brother). We visited the children centres, introduced the younger ones to paint (they had never used paint before!), played cricket with the boys, had a ride on a wooden hand pushed merry go round, went to Mirzapur where my friends were very excited and held a private party with our bottle of vodka, went shopping for rickshaw art in old Dhaka and much more. Thanks Simon for coming to see my world and all your lovely pressies from Oz.

2006-12-13T00:15:00.000+06:00

Aloongi after his eye operation yesterday

Spare change saves an eye!
Aloongi, a beautiful child motivator at my NGO needed to have an operation to remove a tumour from his eye socket. Aloongi receives a token amount for his help with our childrens' non formal education classes and is the only income earner in his large family. Essential health services are not free here. Mum left her spare bangladeshi taka behind when she left and what would hardly cover a movie and popcorn in Sydney paid for Aloongi's operation and saved his left eye. Thanks mum.

2006-12-12T23:21:00.000+06:00

A day at the cricket...
Last weekend I scored some free tickets to the cricket, Bangladesh Vs Zimbabwe. So 14 boys from one of the drop in centres and I had a day out. They loved the cricket and were eager to participate in the many mexican waves. I had my face painted on the way in which made me stand out in the crowd even more than my gender. There was not a female in sight in general admission or a female toilet. An official tried to get me to walk into the mens urinal to use the poo box but I snuck into the VIP toilets instead. At the end of the match, after Bangladesh had won, there were thousands of men trying to exit the stadium through one tiny door. It was mayhem. It was comparable if not worse to/than my most horrific moshpit experience. My boys were very protective though and created a circle around me to stop all the butt pinches that were coming my way. It sure is a man's world at the cricket in Bangladesh.

2006-12-06T22:02:00.000+06:00

Mum's village visit
On mum's last weekend in Bangladesh I took her to my favourite village. She was overcome with the Bangladeshi hospitality . My friends family cooked many traditional dishes. We got to hang out with the boys at their favourite tea stall, visit the local schools, teach the kids how to play uno and mum even battled her fear of heights and crossed this treacherous bridge...not!
Mum is back in OZ now probably missing the crazy chaotic life of Dhaka. It was great to spend time with her and show her around my temporary new home. My best mate Simon is coming in a few days...bring on the visitors!

2006-12-01T21:50:00.000+06:00

The Kids love Koala's
On mum's last visit to my work we gave one of the many classes some books, pencils and clip on koalas. They were estatic. They loved the koala's. Despite me showing them photos of a koala in a tree they still insisted on calling the koala a doll not an animal. I guess you just have to see some animals in the flesh. My camera is out of order at the moment, so thanks to tam who found my old one, and mum who brought it here as now i have a backup, as the kids would be heartbroken without a camera around.

2006-11-30T15:55:00.000+06:00

Serene Sundabarns...not a bengal tiger in sight!

Some friends, mum and I headed to the Sundabarn mangroves south of Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal. It was the most peaceful four days I have spent in Bangladesh so far. The only noises were the birds and the boats. We travelled by cruise boat complete with guide, cook, rangers who protected us from bandits and tigers. Fortunately we saw neither. There was a lot of birdwatching and looking for tigers. The closest we got to a tiger were the footprints below. There are only an estimated 300-400 wild tigers left in the Sundabarns. Some research has started but only one tiger has been tagged so far. We did manage to see a crocodile, dolphins, wild deer, wild monkeys and my first beach since leaving Oz. We also saw some human remains, most probably the result of the 1000 fisherman who went missing a few months ago as a result of a typhoon.

2006-11-29T16:36:00.000+06:00

Our cruiseboat.

2006-11-29T16:33:00.000+06:00

Peaceful scenery

2006-11-29T16:31:00.000+06:00

A stable wharf.

2006-11-29T16:28:00.000+06:00

2 rangers protected us from bandits and tigers.

2006-11-29T16:26:00.000+06:00

Fisherman

2006-11-29T16:23:00.000+06:00

Tiger prints on the beach?

2006-11-29T16:21:00.000+06:00

Some human remains left on the beach, most probably from a typhoon not a tiger.

2006-11-22T19:19:00.000+06:00

Mum and my trip on the river at old Dhaka.

2006-11-22T19:16:00.000+06:00

Some of the beautiful kids that sell flowers at the traffic lights to earn money to survive.

2006-11-22T19:14:00.000+06:00

Mum loved the kids instantly, but then again who wouldn't?

2006-11-22T19:11:00.000+06:00

Mum was struck by these little cuties!

2006-11-22T19:08:00.000+06:00

My girls and I at my office building.

2006-11-22T18:07:00.000+06:00

Mum visits Dhaka

Mum arrived in Dhaka a week ago. Transport is again at a stand still due to political unrest. The opposition is still unhappy with the new interim president and still unhappy with the head of the electoral commission. So there has been no transport in, out and around Dhaka for the last 3 days. You can find out more about this by reading this SMH article or looking at this Dhaka newspaper site.

Mum and I managed to catch a river boat on the weekend and visit my kids at work. It was the first time I had seen them since Dengue. I missed them so much.I hope you enjoy the photos!

2006-11-15T20:41:00.000+06:00

Blockades and yet another ambulance
When I returned from Bangkok I decided to visit some friends in the west of Bangladesh to ease myself out of the sleepy stage of the Dengue Fever, see beutiful sunset above. However while I was there political trouble struck, blockades were placed all over the country stopping the movement of people and goods for four days. I was stranded without a way to return to Dhaka to meet my mum who is arriving in Dhaka tonight. Luckily a few contacts I have knew of a local celebrity who needed to get back to Dhaka. So I arrived early this morning by ambulance. I thought I had seen my last ambo this morning but I think I am about to see another one tonight to get my mum out of the airport!

2006-11-09T21:19:00.000+06:00

Out of hospital and in retail therapy mode..
Yay I am out of hospital today. I am spending two nights in Bangkok before heading back to Dhaka. I went a little crazy at the local department store this afternoon and bought not 1, 2, 3, or 4, but 5 pairs of shoes. I'm blaming the drugs!

2006-11-07T18:05:00.000+06:00

RECOVERING IN BANGKOK

I am writing from Bangkok international Hospital, feeling almost human again today. No more drip, no more needles, but still a pair of red legs that resemble a pom who has been lying on bondi beach for a few days without sunscreen. I don't even look like kramer anymore after the nurses washed my hair- first time in 10 days.

Last week my flatmate Elise rushed me to hospital in Dhaka where they tested me with a million tests and despite my gut feeling that I had dengue the doctors insisted that I had typhoid and were treating me for that. After a few days of getting worse and getting frustrated at the hospital staff our health and insurance company decided to fly me here to Bangkok for further diagnosis and treatment. So I had my own private jet and doctors transfer me to Bangkok Hospital where it took about 3 hours to be diagnosed with yep you guessed it dengue fever- sometimes a gal just has to trust her intuition... and her Thai doctors. I have type 3 dengue, it has stuffed up my liver for a bit and given me hepatitis. Good news is that I didn't get the worst form which affects the brain.

I keep mistakenly calling my hospital room a hotel room cause its the nicest place I have ever stayed in. I have a huge widescreen tv (just as well with my eyesight) 2 couches, a huge bathroom- I had my first hot shower today. The food even tastes like thai restaurant food.

Thanks so much to everyone for all the phone calls, flowers, and cards. All your contact has really cheered me up and made me feel good in a place away from home.

I might only be here for one or two more days. I am going to see if I can scam a few extra nights here so I can fly to phuket for a few more days rest before I head back to crazy dhaka ( i hear the protests are about to begin again) when mum will be visiting (yay!!!!!).

Thanks again for all your well wishes and I am feeling better everyday.

Love Jodes

2006-10-30T16:03:00.000+06:00

RIOTS
For those of you who have heard about the riots here in Bangladesh, I am safe housebound until further notice. Basically there is a lot of political instability as an interim government takes over months before the sceduled elections next year. This is meant to be a neutral party but the current ruling party placed their own president in charge.
Good timing to be housebound as I feel like shit. I think I have dengue fever, just waiting on some tests.

2006-10-25T22:46:00.000+06:00

EID MUBURAK
Yesterday Ramadan officially ended. No more fasting for my Muslim friends. Fasting had been going on for about 3/4 weeks. No food between sunrise and sunset, no water, no smoking, but a lot of spitting. At around 3pm everyday street stalls began to sell IFTAR like the stall one of our kids ran above. Iftar are yummy light snacks like dates, chickpeas, deep fried eggplant, deep fried potato balls, puffed rice and deep fried sugar pastries that prepare the body from fasting. At roughly 5:30pm or whenever the prayer to call was heard everyone quickly ate their snacks and headed home for a late dinner.

Today was the special EID day, the Muslim’s version of xmas EID-ul-Fitr. I went to my friend Laboni’s house for lunch. This consisted of pullao (flavoured rice), kitchuri (flavoured rice), chicken, beef curry, vegetables, salad and three types of rice and wheat deserts. I also went to visit some of the kids at the centres. The girls were very proud of their new outfits. I think they look pretty cute. The boys were equally found of their new shirts. Everyone in Bangladesh gets a new outfit for EID.

Right now I have one week of holidays. Most of Dhaka has disappeared, except the beggars who seem to have doubled, especially near mosques where they target men who have just prayed to Allah.

My flatmate and I are stuck at home writing our last papers of the year for uni. I have just made a bunch of new friends to keep me company though. One of the girls discovered that I have nits….

2006-10-22T23:07:00.000+06:00

Spotlight on TB

When Polly was first diagnosed with TB I completed one of my uni assignments on a comparison between Australia and Bangladesh TB rates. Here's some interesting info for you.

2 billion people worldwide are infected with TB – one third of the world.
9 million people worldwide are diagnosed with active TB every year.
2 million people worldwide die every year from TB related deaths, or 5000 everyday.
Over 90% of cases are reported in the developing world.
Bangladesh has the 6^th highest prevalence rate, approx 600,000 cases, popn = 140 million. Prevalence rate = 435/100,000. Not all cases are detected and reported.
Australia’s rate is 100 times lower. Approx 1,000 cases, popn= 22 million which is roughly 5.8/100,000.
Certain subgroups of Australians carry the burden of this disease, mainly those born overseas and indigenous Australians.
Certain subgroups of Bangladeshis carry the burden: those living in extreme poverty with poor housing conditions and malnutrition.
Death or mortality rate of Bangladesh: 51/100,000 per year. Australia = 0.6/100,000 per year.
As this is an airborne infectious disease it is prevented by reducing active cases of TB which in turn reduce/stop the transmission of the disease. Education and screening programs are extremely important.
Drugs that treat TB urgently need to be updated, especially for the treatment of multidrug resitant strains. The drugs haven’t changed much since the 1960’s. Treatment lasts for 6 months. 6 horse like tablets everyday, without fail. Lack of money into research has been blamed on the fact that the majority of the world that is dying and suffering from TB is the developing world, and they wouldn’t be able to afford the new more expensive drugs. Maybe this will change with the increase in HIV/TB related deaths although again HIV seems to be disproportionately be effecting the developing world.

2006-10-18T22:21:00.000+06:00

Goodbye Polly

Polly passed away on the 5^th October. Yesterday we held a milat at the Drop In Centre where she used to stay. In Islam this is a ceremony to say prayers for the person who has just passed.

For those of you who bought the calendar before I left for Bangladesh, Polly was one of the six kids who was involved in the VISIBLE photo project for street children. Unfortunately she was diagnosed with TB- tuberculosis just over 2 months ago. I was with her when she had her x-ray. TB doesn’t always kill but when it is caught late and when poverty prevails, it often does. Polly had to take 10 large tablets everyday for 6 months. When I returned from holidays she had deteriorated. We rushed her to hospital but when I went to visit her the next day I found an empty bed....and an empty heart.

A big thanks to Melissa who coordinated the VISIBLE project that Polly participated in. Polly's last year was made much richer from the experience and through Polly's photos a part of Polly is with us all. You can check out the photos that Polly has taken including her "happiness" photo below by clicking here. On the website you can also read her comments about the photos she took which display how kind, loving and selfless she was.

2006-10-10T20:45:00.000+06:00

Farewell Shobuj
While I was away in India on the 15th September one of the boys from one of the centres died. His name was Shobuj and he was a beautiful 12 year old boy. We think he died from meningitis as he died suddenly from a high fever. We can’t even tell his parents as they live in another city in Bangladesh and we don’t have the address. Thanks Shobuj for all your beautiful smiles and games of carom (a combination of air hockey/pool). We all miss you already.

2006-10-03T21:41:00.000+06:00

Ten Armed Lady Festival (Durja Puja)
I went to my Hindu friend Sujoy’s village for the Durja Puja festival. This is basically Christmas time for the Hindus. They give thanks to Durja the goddess with ten arms. According to a legend, a demon vanquished the Hindu gods and their king. Durga, equipped with lethal weapons in each of her ten arms, rode a ferocious lion, and killed the demon.

Mirzapur had about 50 temporary temples dedicated to Purja. Thousands of people came to the village to walk from temple to temple to admire and pray to the Durja statues. The last day was definitely the highlight. Everyone dressed in their best shari or punjabi and danced the night away. I won 100 taka for my dancing efforts. I danced all night long with the kids, the village elder, my bangla aunty, some young men, and the local dwarf. After the dancing ended the statues were submerged and left to decompose in the local river.

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One of the many Durja Puja temporary temples.

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Grandma, baby Pui and I on the big night.

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A young woman, Rupa being dragged to the dancefloor!

2006-10-03T20:06:00.000+06:00

The river to get to the village and also where Durja is thrown into the water every year.

2006-09-28T13:44:00.000+06:00

Mysore
Another cute Indian town, although rather touristy. Famous for its sandalwood and handmade incense and its beautiful palaces. I could have spent hours in the market smelling oils, flowers, fruits etc. Handy hint: Don't carry a pen next to your passport. You never know when the pen will decide to leak. Luckily I was able to get back to Bangladesh.

2006-09-28T13:10:00.000+06:00

No leftovers in Bangalore.......
No time for writing but the food was fantastic. My friends Shalini and Nikolai were wonderful as was their resturant/bar. I even ran into one of our old volunteers rajeev from UNSW, again such a small world. More to write later.

2006-09-20T14:47:00.000+06:00

Oh Calcutta!
My flatmate Elise and I endured a 14 hour bus ride to move 360km from Dhaka to Calcutta, India.
The border crossing was an experience to remember especially at 6am with no sleep. But when we finally reached Calcutta we were enchanted by the city and it's old fashioned taxis, it's beer on tap, excellent restaurants, fantanstic fresh fruit juices and of course the shopping!

2006-09-02T12:37:00.000+06:00

Acid Survivors Ball

The Acid Survivors Foundation held their annual fundraiser ball this weekend. Above is a picture of my flat-mates and I at the ball. Bangladesh has the highest world-wide incidence of acid violence. Acid throwing is an extreme form of violence where the majority of throwers are men and the majority of victim-survivors women. Women are attacked for a number of reasons: refusal of marriage, refusal to develop a relationship or rejection of sexual advances, dowry-related issues and intra-family disputes over land. The women, children and men who are attacked need help with costly operations and rehabilitation.

Majeda was 20 yrs old when she was attacked with acid. Her neighbour Hanif proposed to marry her, but Majeda and her family refused his proposal. She was later married to another man. She returned to visit her parents while she was pregnant. Hanif threw acid on her. Her face was badly affected. Her eyes were almost destroyed. After the event her husband left her and remarried. Through private donors ASF arranged for her to go to London for treatment and paid for her rehabilitation costs.

If you would like to read more about this issue you can go to the Acid Survivors Foundation website: http://www.acidsurvivors.org/ . The website contains some graphic photos of the victims burns, so beware.

2006-08-22T21:57:00.000+06:00

Some of the boys took this photo with my camera. A familiar sight. Kids playing/living on the street.

2006-08-22T21:52:00.000+06:00

Teaching a class "around the world" times table game- except the kids were not competitive enough.

2006-08-22T21:10:00.000+06:00

Australian attacked with Hugs
At approximately 4:30pm today I was attacked with hugs. I was walking near work when all my cute little 3pm class kids (not the older boys above) ran out of no where and hugged me. There was two hugging me from the front two hugging me from behind, one on each arm and leg. It felt good. In a country where female contact is forbidden (unlike the grown men who walk around hand in hand and take any opportunity to touch each others' thighs and cuddle), I suddenly felt alive again. Bring back the hugs kids!

2006-08-13T21:46:00.000+06:00

Feeling Fruity?
Mangoes are on their way out and guavas are on their way in. Before Bangers I had only ever tasted guava mixed with champagne, but today I tasted my first fresh guava. I bought it from the man and his mobile cart that was outside my apartment. The photo above was taken from my bedroom window. It wasn't as sweet as I had expected but rather bitter in taste. Normally the guava man cuts and mixes the guava with chilli and salt but I wanted to taste my raw, much to his bewilderment. Guava is a berry and apparently has the highest form of vitamin c and antioxidents out of all the fruits. Today I also tasted my first pink grapefruit whilst at work. Yep it was also served with chilli and salt! Strangely tasty though!

2006-07-24T17:07:00.000+06:00

River Dance

They say its not what you know but who you know. This is definitely true of Bangladesh. My flatmates and I just happen to know “Uncle Ritch” who partly owns a few river boats in Dhaka. On the weekend we were fortunate enough to cruise the Balu River which was a great way to escape the hussle and bussle and honks of Dhaka. Along the way we met several boats carrying elated Bangladeshi males who were also enjoying the river with friends and family. They would sing, dance, wave hello and do flips in the water. We even managed to spot some Bangladeshi females!

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One of the many boats we passed with dancing and waving men!

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Rare sighting on the river: women!

2006-07-17T23:23:00.000+06:00

Village Escape and Hindu Wedding Mania

If kindness ever killed I would have died several deaths on my recent weekend away. My colleague Surjoy invited me to a Hindu wedding in his hindu home town outside Dhaka. It was an arranged marriage between a 21 year old female and a 29 year old male. They had only met once. The ceremony lasted 2-3 days. Music filled the air morning and night. Food flowed freely for over 1000 people. Hundreds of marigolds decorated the brides family courtyard. I was able to experience life in a Bangladeshi rural home for 4 days . I was one of the family. I was fed 5 times a day. I was even tucked into bed each night by Surjoy’s aunty. They were all sad to see me go and one of the neighbours even cried when I left. I think Bangladesh wins the most hospitable prize. I was sad to leave too but… Abar Mirzapur asbo!! I will come again Mirzapur !!

2006-07-17T23:21:00.000+06:00

The bride being carried to the ceremony.

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The wedding spectators.

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Wedding 1 day two: The groom leads his bride around the marigolds 7 times and places red on her scalp in the part of her hair.

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Standing outside the gate that welcomed the groom into the brides village.

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Henna decoration by my bangla sister Nilu

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Wedding number 2 while I was in town.

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My two Bangladeshi aunties.

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Rustic Family home and grandma.

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Family water pump and courtyard.

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My colleague Surjoy and his mates who showed me around town!

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One of the many temples in this hindu village.

2006-07-17T22:28:00.000+06:00

Visit to the local school

2006-07-09T19:58:00.000+06:00

This blog entry isn’t about my sex life (or lack of). It’s a book review and no, it’s not a porn. I have just finished reading Emergency Sex by Cain, Postlewait and Thomson. It’s the biography/recount of 3 twenty something’s who sign up to work in war torn areas with the UN. The intertwined diary like entries give a historical yet personal account of working in a war zone mixed with all the much needed drama that makes you eager to turn the next page. Follow the pages and their stories through Cambodia, Haiti, Somalia, Kenya and Bosnia. The book is an insight into the role (or lack of) of the

and the UN in world peacekeeping. It’s also an insight into the hierarchy of lives during war. It made me laugh and cry, so I give it four stars!

2006-07-04T13:21:00.000+06:00

A hard day at work!

It’s tough being a community officer. It requires going to the people. I needed to find Lovely who just so happens to work in a Beauty Parlour. She lives at one of the drop in centres. While we were asking her and her employer some questions I was distracted with getting my toe nails coloured, a facial and despite my reservations a blow dry and hair do. I did manage to educate them on what ‘boofy’ hair looks like after the blow dry. You just can’t tame curly hair in this country.

2006-06-28T18:28:00.000+06:00

Meet my 3pm class
This is my beautiful 3pm class.
They live on the streets surrounding my office with their families.
They come for class every day (except Fridays) at 3pm for 90 minutes.
They brighten my everyday when I see them.
I hope they brighten your day too!

2006-06-19T23:19:00.000+06:00

H20
Although it's now the wet season it's still bloody hot!
We have a fridge in our apartment but its tiny and never gets all that cold. Its more for keeping the ants, the geekos, the mozzies, the cockies and the mould out of our food supplies. I hate drinking luke warm water. It needs to be as cold as possible. The fridge makes it a tad cold but not nearly enough. I started freezing my water but I was drinking at a faster rate than it was melting and staying very thirsty. Yesterday I had an idea! To freeze half a bottle of water and then add luke warm water from our dispenser to the other half. The result: very refreshing cold water that lasts a good 20 minutes. You can try this one at home in 6 months time when it starts to heat up again. Idea 2: Stick a mango in the freezer-it tastes like gelato from Bar Italia! Its only taken me 3 months but you can't say that I am not a thinker!! The things that amuse me here in Dhaka!

2006-06-16T13:12:00.000+06:00

Wet, Wet, Wet

The wet season started yesterday. My colleagues above wore blue sharis to signify the first day of this 2 month season. There hasn’t been that much rain yet but there has been a foul smell in our apartment- MOULD! Fungus is growing everywhere. It’s on my clothes and walls, anything it can cling to. Mould and no washing machine is a disaster, but luckily the dry cleaner down the road only charges 40c per piece of clothing (they refuse to do our undies). With all this growth happening around me I am quite surprised that my hair is falling out! All us girls are experiencing excessive hair loss here- too bad its not falling off my legs and only my head!

2006-06-03T22:55:00.000+06:00

Big fish Begum Khaleda Zia- will she win power in the next election in Jan 07?

Something smells a little fishy...

I knew something was a little fishy when the usual huge stinky garbage container outside our office was absent when I arrived at work in the morning. I knew something was extremely fishy when I stepped outside my office and I couldn’t hear a single bike bell or a horn honk. I looked onto the street and there were no cars, rickshaws or cng’s anywhere in sight, instead numerous police and a very empty road in both directions. At first I thought a political demonstration about the factory workers was about to occur but then a colleague informed me that the Bangladesh PM was driving past. Where ever and when ever she goes streets are closed for 30 minutes to one hour to let her drive through. I counted 18 cars trailing hers when she finally drove past. Obviously she doesn’t like to see the real Bangladesh, the poor sifting through the rubbish, the rickshaw drivers trying to earn their $2 a day, the beggars in their numerous forms at the traffic lights (underweight children, the elderly, the blind, the burnt, the maimed and the limbless). No wonder this country is in turmoil. Someone let the woman see what is really happening in her country!

2006-05-23T23:13:00.000+06:00

Young boy selling bananas at the market. Bananas usually sell for 2 taka each (4 cents).

2006-05-23T23:08:00.000+06:00

An elephant or 'harti' working in Dhaka! My second spotting of elephants on my way to work.

2006-05-20T17:59:00.000+06:00

Bangla bday

Last week I celebrated my bday by heading to VOOT restaurant. Little did we know that Voot was the bangla word for ghost. The ghosts were 6 dancing men in black costumes and halloween masks, not very scary but definitely very amusing, especially while they were singing happy birthday. My beautiful flatmates arranged a chocolate brownie pyramid using brownies from my favourite café. We even managed to arrange a private area so we could byo a few beers.

2006-05-14T23:23:00.000+06:00

Tea for two in Srimangal!

My flatmate Jen and I headed for our first trip outside of Dhaka. We decided that we needed to see the countryside and breathe some fresh air! We headed to Srimangal, the tea growing area of

Bangladesh

. It was a small town with beautiful fields. We made some special new friends, Meghnad and his family, who live in a small village near one of the tea estates. We had a tour of the tea factory (it smelled fantastic!) where a chalkboard proudly displayed that there had been 1022 accident free days. We hired bikes and rode around this picturesque part of

Bangladesh

, greeting villagers (every child knows how to say "goodbye" in english) and the workers picking tea leaves. Meghnad took us on a tour of Ramnagar a small town that sells the world famous 5 layer tea. It is definitely our favourite place in Bangladesh so far.

2006-05-14T23:00:00.000+06:00

Man picking tea leaves

Meghnad and his village

Bridge near Ramnagar

Jen and I drinking 5 layer tea

2006-05-06T12:31:00.000+06:00

Trapped!
Two men are currently trapped in a mine in Tasmania. Reading about these guys as I sit behind my computer in Dhaka has reminded me of the 55 million Bangladeshi’s who are trapped here, not by rocks but by poverty. These people are trapped everyday for the rest of their very short lives. These two men will hopefully be free by Sunday but for all the people who live on less than $1 day here life will never get better. They will always live one day at a time, working for a minimal wage in extremely dangerous conditions, to feed themselves and their families.

I have been surprised at my concern and need for regular updates about these two miners. Maybe because I know in our part of the world, with our technology these two can and will be saved, unlike the many people I see here everyday.

2006-04-30T18:45:00.000+06:00

Fantasy Kingdom

Yesterday I accompanied 80 of the kids to Dhaka’s biggest theme park. Once a year they go on an excursion and I was lucky enough to witness their joy! I wasn’t feeling so sporty from an open bar night at the aussie club the night before (nothing like a good sing along when Brett Lee pulls out his guitar). Spinning around on the pirate ship or spider wasn’t on my top 10 list of things to do feeling the way I did. But the kids were so excited and I just couldn’t let them down!

The female staff members decided I needed some grooming and applied lippy, put flowers in my hair, gave me a new pair of earrings and applied a bindi.

At the park one boy was dancing and smiling as he watched his friends whiz around on the spider ride. They were all so happy and excited. The boys couldn’t stop holding my hand, picking flowers and playing with my hair (according to the boys I have dandruff and there is a special shampoo I can use to get rid of it).

As I didn’t feel up to riding in the morning, I gave my coupons to the kids to use. At the end of the day when I was feeling better the boys were a bit concerned that I didn’t ride the rollercoaster and managed to find a spare ticket and threw me on it (literally).

On our way home our bus brokedown and all 80 of us had to cram on one bus. Bengalis don’t like silence and so we had singing and poetry reading on the megaphone.

I farewelled one of the boys I had spent most of the day with (he's on the dinosaur above) who was always by my side holding my hand, with a big hug. Then everyone ran up for a hug too. Now they all keep asking me if they can come to Australia. These kids are stealing my heart!

2006-04-21T12:41:00.000+06:00

Shovo Novo Boshur! Happy New Year!
Last Friday it was Bangladesh New Year. Tradition sees females dress up in white and red sharis and head to Ramna Park (similar to that of Centenial Park). We thought we would escape the crowds and everyday attention by heading to Dhaka Uni. We were expecting music and entertainment, but if there was any entertainment it was us! When we wanted to paint our face like the locals, crowds formed around us. When we wanted to check out the local hippie chanting, people stopped to stare not at him but at us looking at him. We even had some admirers follow us which included a young man with a flute- a pity he was so out of tune!

2006-04-19T15:21:00.000+06:00

Drop In Centre Visit

I visited two of the drop in centers last week. It was an amazing experience. On the way there two extreme events happened as they always do here in Bangladesh. I saw a truck hit a rickshaw (bike) and an elephant crossing the road.

When I reached the centre the boys were numerous. They were laughing hysterically at a Mr Bean DVD. There were so many children and they looked so very young. Two boys sang for me and it was the most beautiful song! I visited the girls drop-in centres too that day. I took some of my flatmates there on the weekend and the girls were very shy at first but when all the men and boys left the centre they came alive and loved the attention they were receiving from us. They were showing us how to wear our ornas (scarfs) etc. The kids were so happy to see us and so eager for us to return that they followed us out the door and onto the street.

2006-04-08T22:10:00.000+06:00

Top guy Adam Gilchrist!

My new mate Ricky Ponting!

2006-04-08T21:31:00.000+06:00

Curry, Cricket and Cha!
Before coming to Bangladesh I knew I would be up for the 3 c's: Curry, Cricket and Cha (tea). Little did I know before arriving that I would be socialising with our Aussie cricket team. Luckily my newtown flattie, Craig, took me on an excursion to see my first live match back in February. Australia vs Sri Lanka. The game worked out to be great prep for our cricket function last night and a great conversation starter: "I haven't seen many live games but the one I did see you lost against Sri Lanka". The Aussie team is currently in Bangladesh. Our mate Doug, the High Commissioner here, invited us to a little do with the Aussie and Bangladesh cricket teams. Warney was on the phone (seriously!), but we did get a chance to meet the others. My favourite (and also the most popular player at the office) was Gilchrist. He was your all round genuine Mr nice guy. Three of us ended up drinking red wine back at the hotel with one of the team members. The red wine was bought on their recent South African tour. Definetely a night not to forget!!!

2006-04-07T10:46:00.000+06:00

To squat or not to squat?
That is the question. According to squatplatform.com squatting is much healthier than sitting. For a western woman what is scarey about squatting is not the squat but the absence of flushing, toilet paper and the high possibility of peeing on ones pants or in Bangladesh your Kameez. So I had been avoiding the squat toilet for my first few two weeks. However when I started work this week there was only one female toilet: a squatter. On my first day I tried not to drink too much at work, but yesterday on day two I finally used it without peeing on my pants and I even used water instead of paper and now I have no fear of the squatting toilet!!

2006-04-06T00:32:00.000+06:00

It's a small world after all!
I thought it was a small world when I bumped into an old uni friend crossing the street in London in 1999. I thought it was even smaller when an old work colleague walked into my youth hostel in Rome in 2000. But that has nothing on my next story, after all London is a big place with lots of Aussies and the Roman hostel was the first listed in the lonely planet.

On my first day in Dhaka we had a briefing at the Aussie club. I met a Dane and when I told him I worked in Esbjerg while living in Denmark I find out that he not only was born in this Danish town but we were at the same party at my workplace way back in the year 2000. What a very small world indeed!!!

2006-03-28T09:03:00.000+06:00

2006-03-28T08:54:00.000+06:00

Traffic!
The traffic in Bangladesh can best be described as organized chaos. No lanes, no lights and only one rule, make way when you hear a honk or a bike bell. In Dhaka cars are outnumbered mostly by colorful rickshaws (with spectacular rickshaw art), baby taxi’s or CNGs, yellow taxi’s, black taxis, buses, machinery, animals and of course the pedestrians. The traffic either stands still or moves at an amazingly fast pace- too fast for a city without traffic lights. Crossing the road as a pedestrian is like jumping hurdles. Waiting for a gap in traffic is near impossible. But somehow the Bangladeshi’s manage to stroll leisurely across the street and reach the other side alive. I am still mastering this. The leisurely stroll that is!

2006-03-21T17:39:00.001+06:00

Farewell Sydney!
There was no shortage of events to say goodbye to Sydney and all my beautiful friends.

First the Moonlight Cinema event that saw my back yard turn into an intimate cinema where thanks to the generosity of everyone who came along and others who couldn't make it we raised $500 for the street children's drop-in centres in Dhaka. Great stuff!

Some kayaking on Sydney Harbour was on the agenda thanks to Tony and the gang. Satish and Tony managed to make it even more memorable by tipping my kayak!

On Saturday we had the doctors, nurses, patients and Tony Abbott party which was a great way to spend my last weekend in Sydney and say goodbye to Egan St.

Looking forward to all the dinners/drinks when I get back in 12 months time (i'll be a cheap drunk by then). Don't forget to email/sms/skype me while I am away. "You can take a girl out of Newtown but you can't take Newtown out of the girl"!

Next time I write it will be from Dhaka!

2006-02-06T17:18:00.000+06:00

Bangladesh...here I come!
On March 21 I will be leaving Sydney for Bangladesh. I will be living in Dhaka (capital) and working as a Community Development Officer with street children. I will be working on a project called VISIBLE which you can read and see more about here: www.visibleworld.org.

Some trivia about Bangladesh:
- Mostly Muslim (approx 83%)
- Friday and Saturdays are the two days off
-Population: 141 million
- 82% live on <$2 per day
-Produces 150 - 200 Dhallywood films annually

2006-01-06T18:38:00.000+06:00

A Black Eye & A Mexican Crab
Christmas and New Years were eventful! I spent them in the beautiful Yasawa Islands of Fiji!

On Christmas day Simon and I dressed up in santa hats and necklaces (good thinking Si) which were a hot favourite with the Fijian kiddies! So was Simon's polaroid!

New Years Eve was a hoot with Simon bidding for a lonely mexican crab 'tequila' in the international crab race! The crab was a speedy gonzales and won him first place! $450- not bad at all. All I won on NYE on the other hand was a black eye! Tak (thanks) to the Dane who decided to throw me around the dance floor for a bit of entertainment- I was nearly dancing with the stars after he elbowed my left eye!!

New Years day Simon got a new nickname: Slimer! Two awesome NZ girls with air guitars who had some even better nicknames, served us tonnes of vodka and crowned Simon, Slimer! I escaped a nickname from the kiwis but was earlier crowned 'bag lady' by Tina who couldn't stop laughing (and what a laugh) at my duty free spiking tactics.

The islands were amazing for feeling part of a village and seeing the real 'blue lagoon' (Nanuya Lai Lai), the underwater caves (Matayalevu), snorkelling and hammocking (Korovou Naviti), the entertainment (Kuata) and lazing on the beach, eating/drinking way too much, canoeing inbetween islands, snorkelling and scuba diving (Beachcomber).

2005-12-23T07:36:00.000+06:00

All I want for xmas……..
Today it really struck me how thankful I am for being an ‘accidental westerner’ with a well advanced health care system. I was also reminded of the differences in wealth between rich countries and poor. This all came about not only because I have been spending time a developing country but when I read a letter that was circulated around the office. In developing countries they don’t write to Santa they write to the Red Cross:
“ Sir, with great respect I here by submit my humble request in the contracting of my new set of false teeth. I am 29 years old and serving a 2 year sentence behind bars and just a couple of months ago my teeth all start to get rotten and I often visit the dentist every week. They often pull them out one after the other until it all finished by the end of last month I haven’t got a single tooth remaining in my gum. I also really find it difficult to chew all the foods which I used to have them before. Hoping and praying that your donations will be granted. ”

2005-12-23T07:31:00.000+06:00

Bulla Xmas!
Yesterday I celebrated christmas Fijian style with a traditional lovo. At the work christmas party we ate tender chicken and dalo cooked under ground, mmmmm! It was served with dalo leaves cooked in a mouthwatering coconut sauce! What better to wash it all down with than FIJI BITTER (and lots of it)!