UP | uncultured project

I don’t like to flaunt my religious beliefs.

With a first name “Shawn”, a family heritage in a predominately Muslim country, and the second in my family to go to a place called “Notre Dame” – I am sure I have left a few people wondering what exactly it is that I believe in.

If you read some of the comments I leave on YouTube – I’m sure it gets even more confusing. When I am responding to someone who makes it clear they are Muslim – I often cite the Qu’ran. When I am responding to someone who references Jesus Christ – I respond by quoting the Bible. When I believe someone is agnostic or atheist – I stick to facts, figures, and keep faith out of the picture.

The reason for this is simple – though our beliefs differ, our goals should be the same: We. Must. End. Poverty.

It also speaks to my belief on how we can achieve peace on Earth. In my opinion, peace on Earth will come when we stop hating what is different among us and start loving what it is we have in common. When we finally do that, I think we will find that we share the same wisdom – though we may find it in different places and from different books.

Hey to everyone who have recently stumbled upon this site. The number one comment/inquiry I have been getting is: “How can I get involved?”. Since it’s becoming harder and harder to respond to every email and comment personally – let me answer that question in this blog post:

1) Volunteering and/or Seeking a Position?: I might have given the wrong impression with some of my videos. I’m just one guy – I’m not an organization, NGO, or charity. I am honored that people are asking for “a position in my organization” or to “volunteer for my cause” – but what I’m doing isn’t really anything on that kind of scale. Volunteering is important though – and I highly recommend those interested in checking out both Save the Children and the VSO (that is the VSO UK site – but they have branches in many countries).

2) Sending Supplies?: I’m kind of weary of people sending supplies from abroad given my previous bad experiences with corrupt bureaucrats at the customs office. A very supportive company (Vestergaard Frandsen) had donated some water purification straws (called LifeStraws) and insecticide treated sheeting (called ZeroFly) and had it shipped to me here in Bangladesh. But, when it came to picking it up at the customs office – the local bureaucrats wouldn’t release it without over a $100 in trumped up fees and bribes (or “commissions” as they put it). I’ve even heard of a Canadian NGO/charity which had trouble having their water purification equipment released during the deadly floods of last year. Whether its non-profit charity work or time-sensitive disaster relief – the corrupt bureaucrats at the customs office don’t seem to care.

3) Making a Donation?: I ended the very first video on YouTube with “Don’t worry – I’m not asking for your money”. But, ever since then, I’ve been asked repeatedly if I would consider setting up a PayPal account and start accepting donations. My work in Bangladesh is admittedly very small scale. The big name organizations like Save the Children and smaller (but more personal) organizations like Nari Jibon operate with a greater economy of scale. Donating to them makes more sense because your donation can go further with them. But, given the frequent requests, I am in the process of setting up a PayPal donation system. I will keep you posted. Although even when that is setup – I’d still recommend you donate to one of the recommended charities. They are tax deductible and I won’t be unfortunately.

Above all – more than volunteering, more than making a donation or sending supplies – the most important thing you can do is to make this a priority in your life. Too many people ignore these pressing issues using rhetoric or apathy. Making the world a better place for others – makes it a better place for us. As Dr. Jeffrey Sachs said, “eveywhere we share the same common human bond”. Dr. Sachs (my inspiration for this project and author of the book “The End of Poverty”) believes we can end poverty in our lifetime. I believe him. But in order for that to happen – we have to make it a priority in both our lives and in the political realm.

Human compassion should have no borders. The reason why I came to Bangladesh for this project is because: 1) it was the only place I could financially afford to visit and stay for long periods of time, and 2) because there is so much poverty here. With over 150 million people in Bangladesh there are more people here earning less than $2 a day than there are people in all the countries which normally get media attention. That’s more than South Africa, more than Cambodia, more than Malawi, and more than Sudan (and Darfur) – combined.

There is also a distinction between the kind of poverty you see here in Bangladesh from the kind of poverty you might see in the streets of Toronto, Canada (my hometown). Before I came to Bangladesh, I saw a program on The National about a reporter who tried to help a homeless person on the streets of Toronto. He did his best to help him on his feet – work placement, finding a place to stay, etc,. But, in the end, the homeless person wound up back at the same street corner. The point wasn’t that it was hopeless to help the poor in Canada (it’s not) – it’s just that solving poverty in Canada requires a focus on certain areas of the social support system that are quite often neglected (such as treating drug addiction, counseling for abuse, and support on mental health issues).

The poorest of the poor in the developing world don’t have access to clean water, don’t have access to education, and are malnurished. Solving global third world poverty is such low-lying fruit to solve that it is a crying shame it still exists in 2008. Maybe the fact many people think that focusing on problems within’s one’s borders and worrying about domestic issues first is part of the reason global poverty still exists. But – and I’ve said this a dozen times – making the world a better place for others, makes it a better place for us all.

I’m a city-boy at heart. I panic if I’m more than a few blocks away from the subway. I’m also used to living in a nuclear family and the hemisphere of relatives that usually come with it (immediate aunts, uncles, and cousins). Since coming to Bangladesh, I’ve had to change some of those conceptions and expand my horizons. My trip to Jamalpour – a rural remote village in Bangladesh – was one such experience for me.

My grandmother on my mother’s side is my last surviving grandparent. In turn, she has only one last surviving sibling – a brother who lives in a rural village not far from where I was doing some work related to my latest YouTube episode. In fact, before I was able to visit that school for working kids – my grandmother insisted that I go see her brother (and his children and grandchildren) first. Time is precious and opportunities like this come up rarely. In my family, no one appreciates that fact more than my grandmother.

Here are some photos I took on that trip. See them after the jump or you can check even more of them out on my Flickr photoset titled “My Trip to Jamalpour”.

Continue reading ‘Photos: My Trip to Jamalpour’

In one of my recent videos, I mention that I was in the district of Jamalpour. Part of the reason I was there was because my grandmother was taking me to visit some relatives I never knew I had. While I was there, I was lucky to take a photo of this:

I don’t know about you – but, I for one, found this hilarious. What made it even more hilarious was the fact that door leads to the kitchen and there was cooking going on. They were about to be fed – and so they all lined up in anticipation. Why didn’t Pavlov try his experiment on ducks?

I’ve been very blessed lately. Not only is my recent video getting a lot of views (almost 20,000 right now), but I’ve also been flooded with many positive emails, messages, and comments. There are two reasons for this. The first reason being that I was recently featured on Nerdfighters.com by John Green. Don’t know what Nerdfighters or John Green are? Than, quite possibly, you might not be made out of awesome The other big reason being that I was recently spotlighted in the News & Politics section of YouTube.com.

The deluge of positive and supportive comments mean a lot to me because it hasn’t been the easiest time for me here. Most people in Bangladesh – including my relatives – have never heard of YouTube. Most don’t own a computer and most have never been on the internet. Despite my best attempts to explain what I’m doing, they think I am just “wasting my time” in front of the computer everday (interspersed with trips where I do some filming and charity work).

In fact, in the nine months that I have been in Bangladesh, I have been literally criticized and/or scolded at least once by every single relative living in Bangladesh (starting from my grandmother along with every aunt, uncle, and cousin). They don’t see the point in the work – since my work neither earns me an academic degree nor pulls in a paycheque. Conversely, every aunt, uncle, and cousin I have living in the USA or elsewhere in the developed world has given me nothing but praise, complements, and support. The contrast can sometimes be maddening.

It’s supportive comments from the YouTube, Nerdfighter, NowPublic, and blogging communities that help bring a touch of sanity and composure. I can’t thank you guys enough.

If poverty could be eliminated solely by the hardwork and determination of the poor, then third world poverty would have ended a long time ago. The poor in the developing world are some of the hardest working people on the planet. In my latest episode on YouTube, I once again point out something I learned long ago: the poor aren’t lazy.

More photos and details after the jump.

Continue reading ‘The Young Hardworking Poor of Rural Bangladesh’