UP | uncultured project

Children in Barguna, Bangaldesh watch YouTube video responses of people who told me to provide this village with clean & safe drinking water. Clean water project implemented with Save the Children.

You can see the full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJubQzKYMGg

A couple of days ago, I wrote about my frustration trying to translate a single word a young cyclone victim had told Paul. Although it may not seem like much, here’s the fruits of that 14+ hour labor:

What you might not see in this video – because I did have to edit it a bit to make it understandable – is the struggle he was going through to find the right words to express himself in English. He desperately wanted to share his story – and I desperately wanted to make sure I got what he was saying correct. In hindsight, a half day’s worth of work seems like a bargain for that.

This also serves to highlight one of the common things I’ve learned about how Bangladeshi rich fail to understand, empathize, or even acknowledge poverty within Bangladesh. Many of the well-to-do Bangladeshis didn’t have a clue what was being said but instead offered their guesses (such as “he’s talking about river or coastal embankments” or even better “he’s talking about returning a book”).

As this experience highlights, when it comes to well-to-do Bangladeshi elites and their understanding of the plight of the poor in this country. Both literally and figuratively, the rich are often not even speaking the same language as the poor.

The difference between Dhaka today and the same time yesterday is like the difference between night and day. The sun has come out – no more gloomy storm clouds casting their shadows over the city. But more importantly than that – the city is noisy again. Hammers banging away at nearby construction sites, street vendors yelling about the sales they are having, and the rings of rickshaws as they pedal by. The city is alive again.

I was awake at midnight last evening and what struck me was the utter dark and silence. I had only experienced this kind of dark and silence once before – when I was in the rural village of Modhipur. But in Modhipur, there wasn’t a soul nearby. But, last night in Dhaka, surrounded by tightly packed apartments with thousands of people – I couldn’t hear a peep and couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

With things so bad now – I desperately want to make a difference. I brought certain items with me as part of this project – like water purification straws called “LifeStraws” donated to me by the manufacturer Vestergaard Frandsen. I also have insecticide treated sheeting that can be used for housing called “ZeroFly” donated by the same company. I also have recently purchased 70 blankets to give away. I don’t want to just give them away by the roadside – for they then maybe taken and merely resold (as I have been warned by many people).

I’ve been working desperately trying to partner with a reputable and trustworthy NGO or charity to help me distribute these items. NGOs and charities, having established a long-term presence here, are better able to assess genuine need and would best be able to help me direct my efforts. Unfortunately, to my surprise, many NGOs don’t want publicity. After about a month’s worth of negotiation, I had managed to secure assistance from a very big and prestigious NGO to distribute the LifeStraws. They would help me distribute them to a needy group of people in rural Bangladesh. I was even given permission to film the whole thing. But, apparently, they did not realize that I was filming it as part of a video blog. When they understood the purpose of the filming – the entire distribution got scrapped. A month of discussions, giving items for testing, and preparation all down the drain.

I’m left back at square one at a time when I should be on the ground making a difference.

So where have I been these past few days? Been pretty busy. But also because I’ve been going through the footage I’ve shot to create this little summary/montage to show what I’ve been up to while I’ve been here. Take a look:

My goal since the start of this project was to be video blogging this whole experience. But, this has been a bit slow going. Hopefully this video will be a good start in changing that. This project is short term and I’m glad I was able to upload some videos while I’m still in the country.