We all have dreams...

Amanda: And what do YOU want to be when you grow up, Syma?
Ivee (translator): something in Bangla
Syma (adorable litte girl with no front teeth): something in Bangla
Ivee: She wants to be a teacher.
Amanda: Wow! And what are you drawing here?
Ivee: something in Bangla
Syma: something in Bangla
Ivee: She says “Those are the desks in my classroom”.
Amanda: Wow! And what are you drawing here?
Ivee: something in Bangla
Syma: something in Bangla
Ivee: She says “I’m teaching the children”.
Amanda: Wow! And what are you drawing here?
Ivee: something in Bangla
Syma: something in Bangla
Ivee: hysterical laughter
Ivee: She says…
Ivee: more hysterical laughter

Ivee: She says “That’s me beating the students”.

 

A Fan, a Message, a Hope

With Patenga situated as a major port-of-call, there is a growing fear that the global HIV/AIDS epidemic will not stay at bay for long. Fortunately, Bangladesh’s HIV rate is still quite low, and World Vision aims to keep it that way. How? Education.

These men are rickshaw drivers and they have been invited to attend a three-day course on HIV, how it is spread, what the myths and facts of it are, how to prevent it, and what the warning signs are. In addition to several other educational resources, each man – who, because of his profession, has been identified as “high risk” for contracting the disease – is given a fan that he can use to cool himself on a hot day. The fan is inscribed with educational facts about HIV so that the students can, in turn, teach their peers. Each man we spoke with was excited about the prospect of sharing this information with other rickshaw drivers. They want to see change in their community.

But what makes rickshaw drivers high risk? In this shy culture, it took awhile for me to get an answer to that question. And when I found out, I almost wished I hadn’t asked. The going rate for a prostitute in Patenga is about $0.70. As a matter of “courtesy” (yes, I say that with sarcasm), sailors seeking out this form of “entertainment” (more sarcasm) will often offer their rickshaw driver a turn.

And again, we are back to education . Until the value of a woman is raised above $0.70, this problem will continue to exist. But in the eight years since World Vision’s Patenga Area Development Program started, school enrolment had shot up from 35% to an astounding 92%, with most of that increase coming from girls! And that is a reason to celebrate. And hope.

They said she couldn't...

They said she couldn’t do it. When Goltaz told her friends and family that she wanted to attend a course World Vision was offering on textiles and tailoring, they said she was too stupid and that she would never be accepting into the training program. She got in.

They said she couldn’t do it. When she completed the World Vision course, she announced that she was starting her own business. Again, they told Goltaz – who at this point could not even read or write her own name – that she would never succeed. She has.

With her husband unable to work due to an injury he received in the 1991 Cyclone, her family’s situation was dire. Desperate and determined, Goltaz set out on a door-to-door marketing campaign among her neighbours telling them that now that she was trained, it was their responsibility to bring their tailoring needs to her. And they did.

Today, Goltaz has 22 women working for her out of two locations. Her elaborate saris are in demand in urban centres like Chittagong and Dhaka, and she has just received her first international order for $7,000 worth of product to Germany. When we visited her, she was busy making the passport arrangements for her family. Her children are in school and her husband is running a delivery and taxi business with two brand-new vehicles she has bought him. And what's the best part of her new situation? She knows that if her children ever get sick, she knows that she will now be able to buy them medicine.

Her hope for each employee is that they will run their own businesses one day and be every bit as successful as her. She sees her business as an extension of World Vision’s training programs. In fact, the day after we saw her, she was planning to take three women to the bank to help them each secure their first micro-loan.

Perhaps the most poignant moment of the day was courtesy of Goltaz’s father, a traditional-looking man who had spend most of our visit solemnly standing in a corner. When asked what he thought of his daughter’s success, he began to cry (prompting tears from everyone else in the room, from us, to Goltaz, to our translators): You raise your children and you have dreams for them. But you never dream this big. I am so proud of her.