Home

Wednesday 13th December

Wednesday was a bright and early rise as we had a two and half hour bus ride to our first Youth Ending Hunger social action project (SAP) which was taking place in Sarail, Brahmanbaria. This was a great first social action project to visit, and we were given an incredible welcome to the town as we stepped off the coach. We were given flowers and parade materials, including hats and flags. What happened next was a very honourable experience as we took part in a rally to celebrate social action and the work the community is doing to overcome their social issues.

The villagers and our good friend Shamin (the local Youth Ending Hunger lead) could not wait to rally with us and share their special stories and have their photo taken with us, and likewise for us. After the rally we went to the community hall were we met up with the local MP and other representatives as well as the young leaders taking part in the SAPs. We took part in a Q and A with each other. What was prevalent throughout this dialogue was that the community had political support, community ownership and individual responsibility.
The highlight of this dialogue came when we met the young women leaders. Their passion and commitment is unquantifiable and their desire for change and community fulfilment is at the heart of their work.

4pm we had lunch in a typical Bangla café, where we tucked into local food with our fingers, and reflected on our amazing exposure and experience in Brahmanbaria. We got back on the coach and headed for the mountain tea range in Srimangal. We went to visit the Madhabpur Lake, which was a beautiful experience as we arrived just as the sun was setting over Bangladesh, exposing the true beauty of the range.
8pm we walked around the village chatting with the friendly and welcoming locals and decided to take tea in the street with the locals, and engage in some typical ‘bangla chat’, including politics and putting the world to right. Whilst up in the hill range of Srimangal we were lucky to stay over in a guest house called Hill View, playing cards until 4am, and really getting to know each other as a group