I’ve flown over Bangladesh countless times, while traveling between the NE-India and New Delhi, but never had the chance to physically visit. It is one of the rapidly, and relatively consistently, developing countries in South Asia today, with an average 6% GDP growth in the past few years. Hard to imagine that it was once dismissed by famous scholars and economic pundits as a hopeless case. But today this country is alive. Dhaka is bursting with energy, and chaos. The growth is so fast, the existing infrastructure cannot keep up with it. The traffic jam. The noise. The rapidly scattering sky rises in all directions. Extremely preoccupied 16 million souls occupying every inch of the city. My private thought is that growth is indeed “trickling down.” Albeit very slowly.
This is the start of my internship with the UNDP in Dhaka. I hope to visit and interact fully with the BRAC, the Grameen Bank, the ADB, The WB, and many others, including the emerging social enterprise venture ClickDiagnostics. An exiting experience for me personally awaits. My hope is that I could translate even a little bit of the knowledge and experience I gain from Bangladesh for the neighboring NE provinces of India, especially Manipur. Sachs described it as a place where one can witness the fight against survival being gradually won, a case of “poverty in retreat.” Rightly so. Of course Bangladesh still has miles to go before it achieves a comprehensive victory over its problems. (I will leave that discourse and direction to its rightful leader Mr. Rubayat Khan, who, by the way, has been reading from his Kindle while enjoying pure Bengali cuisine all summer long).
A special mention: the people of Bangladesh are generous with their hospitality. Their kindness, and good heartedness has already made me humble, a trait that we, at Harvard, tend to lack in different doses.
Other upcoming stories: encounter with the Bengal Tigers, and UN office’s attempt to temper sexually transmitted diseases.
This is the start of my internship with the UNDP in Dhaka. I hope to visit and interact fully with the BRAC, the Grameen Bank, the ADB, The WB, and many others, including the emerging social enterprise venture ClickDiagnostics. An exiting experience for me personally awaits. My hope is that I could translate even a little bit of the knowledge and experience I gain from Bangladesh for the neighboring NE provinces of India, especially Manipur. Sachs described it as a place where one can witness the fight against survival being gradually won, a case of “poverty in retreat.” Rightly so. Of course Bangladesh still has miles to go before it achieves a comprehensive victory over its problems. (I will leave that discourse and direction to its rightful leader Mr. Rubayat Khan, who, by the way, has been reading from his Kindle while enjoying pure Bengali cuisine all summer long).
A special mention: the people of Bangladesh are generous with their hospitality. Their kindness, and good heartedness has already made me humble, a trait that we, at Harvard, tend to lack in different doses.
Other upcoming stories: encounter with the Bengal Tigers, and UN office’s attempt to temper sexually transmitted diseases.
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