Anyone know of any opportunities to volunteer in Bangladesh? I was thinking about trying to put something together during the Christmas break, but I'm having a hard time finding any opportunities. Probably a long shot, but just throwing it out there. All I am finding are opportunities to volunteer, but nothing related specifically to the cyclone. Thanks.

11/24/2007 10:28:36 AM

you think america/americans care about dark-skinned people with no oil/gas/strategic asset???

if they had anything useful, america would already be there "exporting democracy and human rights"!

11/24/2007 2:55:35 PM

^ point taken

11/24/2007 3:12:29 PM

I'm living in Bangladesh right now, and we're trying to figure out the best course of action to help. Many groups within country are getting things together. Things are just getting organized. Right now the best thing is donating through Red Cross and Red Crescent http://donate.ifrc.org/

I'll post to this thread as my friends and I figure more things out. But its only been a week and a half. And right now, you can't get to the affected areas from Dhaka, the roads are destroyed. As well, that's why they still haven't completed a death toll, they can't reach most of the destroyed villages.

And OEP, they are a republic just like us. Only right now, while digital voter registration is occurring, the caretaker government is in charge. It will be functioning again at the end of next year after over 100 million people get registered, which the U.S. is lauding for the good job its doing on such a huge task. So, no need to export democracy. However, some human rights would be well appreciated.

11/25/2007 4:13:44 AM

With the population they have, I don't think they really need any volunteers...!

11/25/2007 5:12:54 AM

Quote :

"And OEP, they are a republic just like us. "

And they have also ranked as the most corrupt country in the world on some transparency/corruption index by the UN(?) several years in a row.

11/25/2007 5:15:22 AM

oh most definitely the most corrupt. people here laugh about it because they know its so true. corruption is the first reason given for why something is not going right.
a struggling republic, but America only likes to play I-Spy-Democracy

11/25/2007 7:38:18 AM

Quote :

"you think america/americans care about dark-skinned people with no oil/gas/strategic asset???"

The American embassy in Bangladesh has already distributed around $4 million in aid to rescue and support operations after the cyclone.

Also -

Quote :

"And they have also ranked as the most corrupt country in the world on some transparency/corruption index by the UN(?) several years in a row."

That's wrong as well:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781359.html

Granted they're 156 out of 163, but there are worse places.

[Edited on November 25, 2007 at 9:42 PM. Reason : .]

11/25/2007 9:40:23 PM

I would suggest contacting the humanitarian relief/development Non-Governmental Organizations directly. I've looked through a few of the ones that Ive worked for/with in the past and Im seeing a lot of info about them sending money and supplies. I would imagine that their country teams are mobilizing people as well.

A good place to get started is http://www.reliefweb.int. It is a UN run website that serves as a clearinghouse for all things relief and development. They have a comprehensive job board but you may not find a whole lot of volunteer opportunities for Bangladesh right now. However, you can get a listing of all of the NGOs out there that might be looking for people, even the less prominent orgs.

11/26/2007 9:50:42 AM

We talked with Habitat for Humanity's Bangladesh branch today, and they said they won't be planning any trips til JANUARY at the earliest. They had lots of projects all over the country for these next two months that they are staying committed too. However, they are anticipating building 3,000 homes starting in January for cyclone relief. These structures would be made of concrete blocks and corrugated steel.

I've been getting contacted by many of my Bangladeshi friends here who are going down with their office groups. They have been asking for donations to buy clothes, food, and supplies to deliver themselves when they go down. Some have already gone down, and are going again in the next two weeks. However, they won't let others get involved unless you work with that specific company.

11/27/2007 12:31:21 PM

Uday is on the case

11/27/2007 12:34:10 PM

I asked some of my friends here who are getting supplies together to be sent down in convoys how much it would cost to feed a family of a certain size for a certain amount of time, to get an understanding of how far a donation would go. They looked into it and came up with the following number:

For a family of 4, Tk700 ($10) could feed them for a week. So I'm gaging all my donations I give out here around that.

11/30/2007 11:56:50 PM