LUISA'S FEEDBACK

My name is Luisa and I was a volunteer in the Dhaka Project and the Catalyst for a month. I think it may have taken me some good two months after returning home to realise how many little things had changed in me because of this experience. I can maybe now start understanding why it was difficult for Maria to just ignore the reality she saw and the people she met, although it is still very much impressive how she took such a great task in her hands. A month is really not enough to make a difference. I probably spent half of that time getting used to the very hot weather, trying to understand what I should be doing without being a burden more than a helping hand to the staff... Having Mr. Jewel waiting for me at the airport and showing me around in the first couple of days made all the difference though. I did not have to worry about practical issues, such as shopping, where it was safe to eat, exchanging money, etc, which in Dhaka may be quite difficult to manage on your own without speaking the language. There was also much flexibility on what tasks we could do, sometimes too much flexibility – in a month I was maybe hoping to do too much and I may have felt a little lost sometimes. I would normally spend the day divided between the Clinic with Dr. Jahid and the Catalyst in the evenings. It was very insightful to observe the Doctor’s work and I would help as much as I could, although, to be honest, I probably learnt more here than the contribution I was able to give. In the evenings I would go to the Catalyst, where I taught Portuguese to a group of children, who had already started learning the language with previous volunteers. I also took some English classes for the older children, although much improvisation was needed with so many power cuts and the almost unbearable heat in the classroom sometimes. Other tasks I was involved in included sorting out the books in the school’s library, helping in the recruitment of an English teacher for the Catalyst and organise a movie night for the children. Most importantly for me, perhaps, was having this informal contact with the children after school. Palash, who is the main person working at the Catalyst, makes sure the volunteers have the best chance to do some work for the project but at the same time get to know the children a bit better. ‘Nice to meet you’, some would say, always shaking my hand. I could write another essay on how lovely they are, but suffice it to say they are definitely the main reason why I decided to go back as soon as my life permits. In the meantime, I will try to get news from them and hope the Project will receive all the help it needs. For future volunteers, I would say, read the information in the ‘pre-departure’ document, you will find some useful tips in there! Also, try to discuss, as much as possible, what tasks you will be doing beforehand. It would also be good to keep some continuity to what other volunteers have done in the past, e.g. carry on with the classes someone was teaching, bearing in mind what topics have already been covered. If you wish to donate goods to the project (e.g. clothes, stationery), the best thing is to buy them – cheaply –from Dhaka and avoid carrying this stuff around the globe with you (like I did). I know they do ‘warn’ us to be flexible, but it is true, many situations may become frustrating or overwhelming. Things don’t always happen at the pace you want or don’t happen at all, but you do learn how to appreciate the struggle these people face every day. So, just do your best to mingle and I can assure you it will be worth it.