Tag Archive for 'Bagerhat'

$130 Million Donated to Bangladesh… Anonymously

Published
by
Shawn
on January 31, 2008
in Cyclone, Economics, News and Poverty
. 1 Comment

Wow. $130 Million. Dollars…. $130 million. That’s the amount donated to Bangladesh anonymously by an individual earlier today to the Islamic Development Bank to help rebuild after the damage done by Cyclone Sidr.

Let me put it this way. If you donated $500 you could provide for all the nuts and bolts to rebuild 50 homes in Bangladesh (sound like a good idea? here’s the charity that does that). $130 million could help build 13,000,000 homes. Or build schools. Or roads. Whatever it will be spent on it will help families recover, rebuild, and help to resume their lives.

I would like to think I made a difference in the Cyclone Sidr relief efforts. But, in reality, I was only able to spend about $200 in my personal out-of-my-pocket on that three day trip to Bagerhat. Imagine what $130 million could do? It boggles my mind.

Here’s the original story by the Associated Press. and thanks to my friend Mo back in Toronto for making me aware about this story.

The Hard Lessons of Aid Work

Published
by
Shawn
on January 18, 2008
in Cyclone, Flickr, News, Personal, Poverty and YouTube
. 7 Comments

Kid Clings Onto Our Boat

When it came to Cyclone Sidr and disaster relief - I thought I knew it all. I knew I couldn’t help them all. I knew the media would be coming. I knew the local population knew the area better than foreigners. I knew aid work was more than just giving stuff away. I knew things could go wrong. I knew the blankets I was giving away could be used to keep people warm during this cold season. I thought I knew it all….. I was wrong.

In this latest episode I talk about the lessons I had to learn - the ones that were tough for me to learn. I’ve tried to keep this project positive. This episode is an exception to that.

Click the jump to read more.

Continue reading ‘The Hard Lessons of Aid Work’

Cyclone Sidr Deaths Now Exceed Sept 11 Attacks

Published
by
Shawn
on December 4, 2007
in Cyclone, News, Personal and Poverty
. 5 Comments

“We really got to make sure that we educate - not just the [local] people, but also ourselves,” explained Nick Downie. Downie, a British national, had come as Operations Co-ordinator for an alliance of Save the Children charities from around the world to come and help those affected by Cyclone Sidr. I had accompanied Downie for a day, earlier last week, to a remote region of the disaster area that could only be reached by either boat or helicopter.The location for Downie’s plea for education could not have been more imposing. We had just walked for 30 minutes along a path full of make-shift refugee housing and buried bodies. The largest grave we had found had over 13 newly buried bodies - over two-thirds of which were children. In the middle of the interview, I interrupted him. There was a powerful smell that made it almost impossible for me to breath. “Is that smell the dead bodies? Or the dirty water?” I asked…

With the official death toll currently being reported at 3,268 (source: Bloomberg.com), the loss of life caused by Cyclone Sidr already exceeds that of the September 11th attacks. With new bodies being found everyday - a great many of them children - the official death toll is most certainly expected to exceed the total number of coalition causalities caused by the Iraq War. However, despite the ever increasing scale of this tragedy, the plight of Bangladeshis affected by Cyclone Sidr seem to have faded from international headlines.

Although I am reporting from Dhaka, I often rely on British and American news sources for the latest facts and figures. However, finding the latest news on Cyclone Sidr from CNN and BBC is almost impossible. This is strange given that the story is anything but over. During my time in the field, I was fortunate enough to have not stumbled across any dead human bodies. A great many of my colleagues, however, were not so fortunate. Even as late as yesterday night, I was hearing reports of new bodies being found and in need of burial.

Although generous people from around the world are uniting to help donate to disaster relief, aid is still slow in coming. On my trip to the Bagerhat Disaster Area, I had brought 70 blankets which I had paid for with my own money to give away. 30 of which, I brought along with my trip with Nick Downie to this remote region of the disaster area. It turns out, that these 30 blankets were the first aid (of its kind) in this particular region. Whatever sense of accomplishment I felt was overridden by grief. 30 blankets never seemed so little an amount in my life.

“We’re very comfortable back in our homes - whether we’re in London or Toronto,” explained Downie - referring to our respective hometowns. “We just got to do whatever we can,” he added.

One thing is certain - we certainly can do more than just provide a 30 second spot for this news story.

This article has been also posted on NowPublic.com, you can read the same story here.

[Note: My YouTube channel/videos have been nominated in spotlight contest. Votes determine the winner - and I am currently in second place. You can vote for the next three days at PhillyD.tv - there is a poll on the left side of the page.]

Helping Kids with Save the Children

Published
by
Shawn
on December 4, 2007
in Cyclone, Flickr, Global Health, News, Personal, Poverty and YouTube
. 1 Comment

On the third day, I teamed up with Save the Children to try and make a difference in the remote region of the Cyclone Disaster Area. Why am I uploading a video about Day 3 first? Well, this was one of the most profound days of my life. I wanted to share this first. I also wanted to try and have a video that ends on a somewhat positive note. This video features both freshly laid graves and clapping children - so it’s quite a wide gamut of emotions in this episode.

YouTube has a ten-minute limit on its videos, so this is really just a snapshot of what happened that day. Here are some things that I wasn’t able to mention in the video:

  • The first kid you see to receive a blanket lost his mother from the Cyclone.
  • As we approached the coastline, Nick Downie was warning me “careful what you film - we don’t want to anger the military”. I quickly call my uncle (ex-Colonel in the Bangladesh army) asking him what regiment he used to be in - just in case I need to drop his name in the event the military harass us. “Don’t worry,” my uncle replied, “the relationship between Bangladesh and Save the Children is as old as Bangladesh itself - you’ll be fine,”. But then he added, “if you do get into trouble - give me a call,”.
  • We found a lot more graves of small children along the way - I just couldn’t bear to include them all in the video. Some were buried so shallow you could basically see an outline of the body.
  • At one point I ask Nick Downie (Save the Children), “is that smell the dead bodies or the dirty water?”. He replies “a bit of both”. The stench really was that bad. But, I didn’t want to disgust my viewers more than I already had - so I cut that out.
  • I got scratched by a rusty nail along my journey to the abandoned school. I also banged up my ankles a bit as I tripped in a few spots. The paths were far more treacherous than they look on camera.
  • Some of the most dangerous paths to the abandoned school couldn’t be filmed - like walking on a stick of bamboo over a pond. Bamboo is officially miracle wood in my books. Anything that can support my weight with just a stick has to be magical.

The worst was when I was distributing the blankets. I know that should be the high point - and it does look good on video. But, in reality, my stomach was turning. I only had 30 blankets - and the room must had far more kids than that. For every kid that was happy to get a blanket, I saw another right next to him or her with this anxious look on their face. It’s the kind of look that says “Will I get one? Will I be called next?”. It killed me. After all my 30 blankets had been assigned for distribution, a little girl came up to me and asked in Bengali “Can I have a blanket too?”. I can’t even type that without chocking up.

Click the jump for some photos that supplement this latest episode. Continue reading ‘Helping Kids with Save the Children’

Cyclone Sidr - Brings People Together to Help, Risks Becoming Old News

Published
by
Shawn
on November 22, 2007
in Cyclone, News, Notre Dame, Personal and Poverty
. 2 Comments

“We need you here in an hour” said my contact at Muslim Aid - one of the charities I mentioned in a previous YouTube episode.

I am in the road as I type. I am heading to Bagarat - one of the areas worst hit when Cyclone Sidr hit the coast of Bangladesh and killing over 3,000 and leaving countless displaced. Cyclone Sidr may have displaced many people - but it’s also brought a lot of people together. This aid mission includes Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Atheists coming from places such as Canada, UK and Bangladesh.

Among all this is yours truly. I had little time to prepare - I’ve never showered, brushed my teeth, packed my bags, and ate a meal so quickly in my life. This mission includes a lot of equipment from all around the world. I am proud to say that I was able to get my 70 blankets back from that horribly botched joint distribution with BRAC. The are with me on this car and they they will be going to those who need it.

The toughest part lies ahead. I’ve never been in a situation like this in my life. Then again, many of the victims of this Cyclone are probably saying the same thing. I’m hoping and praying that the world keeps Bangladesh in mind. People in the developed world seem to have a short attention span when it comes to the tragedies elsewhere in the world. This is especially true among college and high school aged students. Much like fashion trends, certain issues fall out of style.

The “trendy” thing back at Notre Dame seems to be helping victims of the cyclone that hit Mexico. It even has a better slogan than the tragedy here: “the Katrina of Mexico” they call it. Never mind that the Cyclone that hit Bangladesh was more powerful than Katrina. But you know what? Tragedies shouldn’t need to be competing for attention. There should be enough compassion and attention for all of them. Just cut the Paris Hilton and Britney Spears coverage by 5% and you can make room for both.

The worst thing that can happen to the victims of Cyclone Sidr right now is for their tragedy to become old news.

(Disclaimer: Tagging along with Global Medic and Muslim Aid in no way implies support or endorsement of The Uncultured Project, me, or my views. The views expressed are my own and do not reflect Global Medic, The David McAntony Gibson Foundation, Muslim Aid, or any other NGO or charity. I am not under the employment or contract of any of these organizations.)

Helping the Cyclone Victims - “If Only I Could” turns into “Finally I Have”

Published
by
Shawn
on November 21, 2007
in Cyclone, Flickr, Personal, Poverty and YouTube
. 0 Comments

Where would I be if I wasn’t here? There is no where else I would want to be than right here, right now. Too often I’ve witnessed tragedies unfold over the TV screen. Witnessed people who are too poor to fend for themselves die and suffer. I would often curse myself under my breath - “if only” I would say. “If only” I had been there - I could have done something. “If only” I could save just one life - it would be worth it. No more do I have to say “if only”. Now I can say “finally”.

For better or worse I’ve been given a chance to make a difference. That difference starts today. Just minutes a ago a BRAC jeep (BRAC stands for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee - the world’s largest Non-Government Organization) came and picked up 70 blankets to go to Bagarat (near or in Khulna). “How did you get so many blankets so quickly?” a BRAC director asked me. “I bought them to give away in the first place - I just never expected to have to give them like this” I explained.

70 blankets seems like a lot - but at the same time isn’t.

Uncultured Project - Aid to Bagarat

But, the way I see it - most poor families (even before the Cyclone hit) sleep in the same bed. So, 70 blankets translates to 70 families (and these blankets are big enough for that). So that translates to about 200 to 280 people. That means someone is going to be warm this winter and it cost me me less than a buck a person. Even the iPhone can’t compete for that kind of value (and I’m a huge mac geek).

Just how much 70 blankets actually is dawned upon me when BRAC came to pickup the blankets. They came with an empty jeep - but they still had to stuff them all inside…

BRAC Employee Loads Uncultured Project Blankets for Transport

Here’s a shot of after they managed to squeeze all the blankets in:

All The Blankets Loaded in the BRAC Jeep

The round white tanks are the CNG tanks - the fuel alternative I told you about in an earlier post.

I’m just hours away to the worst affected region in Bangladesh. My aunt warned me that things are so bad there the smell of death is still there. Thanks auntie, that makes me real comfortable going now…

P.S. - For the life of me, I have no idea what magic it takes to make a popular YouTube video. I’m not asking for crying about Britney Spears with a towel on your head popular (that video almost at 13 million views now by the way), but I was hoping my latest video about Dhaka after the Cyclone had featured-on-YouTube-frontpage potential. But it is starting too look like this video will be my lowest viewed video yet. I’m not worried though - especially on a day like today. I now have 200 to 280 more reasons to be thankful I’m here.