25 year-old Hashi Akhter tells us. She is a young professional working as a child space facilitator for more than two years in a local NGO -Bhumija Foundation. Bhumija, based in Tala of Satkhira, which falls under the Southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh, is one of the Local Rights Programme (LRP) partners of ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB). Last year in August I was in Tala where I met Hashi for the first time. As a member of Emergency – Fast Action Support Team (E-FAST) of AAB, I went there to get updates from our Bhumija Foundation colleagues about the recent flood situation and relief distribution process taken by AAB for the affected communities. Within a short period of time I became close to Hashi while she was saying,

On IWD in 2012, girls from Bangladesh’s rural areas state their vision! “What do you want to be?” could be the second common question you have answered at several points in life. I remember scratching my scalp last time my grandfather held me in his arms and asked me the same question. He is no more.

In Bangladesh the “Vision of Girls”-project is one of the ways Action Aid fights to create better futures for young girls. As a member of Activista I have had the honor to meet Salma who used to live in the street. Former street child – future doctor

Narsingdi District Court, 15thJuly 2009 – two witnesses with different hearing needs were present in a case. The plaintiff hired an interpreter of Bangla Sign Language from Dhaka to interpret what these two witnesses had to say. At the beginning the lawyer of the accused party raised a question against the interpreter. But the honorable judge had a positive impression and the defendant’s lawyer had a strong point regarding the different needs of these witnesses. So the objection of the lawyer of the accused was overruled. A huge crowd outside the court observed this different kind of hearing for the first time in their life.

I was wondering what am I supposed to do now. Damn, never felt this awkward about a situation and my heart was pounding like I have been running so fast for long. But, surprisingly after a while, I felt that I am quite comfortable now. I think I should stop referring to my feelings, but for some reason I just can’t stop. Next thing I realised, I have started looking at others and I felt people were more embarrassed than me. They also did not know how to react because I assume, for the first time, they were in such kind of situation. I am sure, the way I have explained the situation, tons of negative and bad thoughts have already clouded your mind. Which is natural and this is the way the human mind actually works. Any wildest guess cannot be fitted in the situation that I have described but if anyone can guess then I would like to praise the person and for others, would request to be more considered about it.

I was a fresh graduate when in 2006 I joined the Bangladesh chapter of ActionAid. My first assignment was to execute a project named ‘Creating Role Models of Youths with Disabilities in Corporate Sector of Bangladesh’. The project was meant for capacitating potential young persons with disabilities as well as lobbying with the potential employers to facilitate decent employment for those youngsters.

Bangladesh has reduced poverty and improved living standards significantly in recent years despite the global economic recession and natural calamities. In spite of rising standards of living, some things never seem to change. Men still seem to get a better deal than women. This happens in all walks of life, starting from a multinational corporation to the most remote village farm in Bangladesh.

Analysis of recent demographic data shows that Bangladesh has a significant ‘youth group’ – more than 40 to 50 percent of the Bangladeshi population is now under the age of 24, with a significant portion centered on the cohorts aged between 15 and 24. This youth group provides great opportunity. This group has the potential to create a ‘demographic dividend’ in the right policy environment. The combined effort of a large working-age population supported by appropriate health, family, labor, financial and human capital policies can create sustained cycles of wealth creation.

I have just finished a twelve month assignment as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). I am writing this from my old desk having signed on as their Program wheelbarrow Development Advisor and I can hardly believe twelve months in Bangladesh has passed so quickly. I do not seem to have stood still for long enough to notice the whole week flash before my very eyes!