Most of the towns and cities of Bangladesh are higybigy
 Manik,our amazing driver and Hannan,field supervisor and translator for BPKS, aNGO of and by the disabled
people in Bangladesh, taught me this word. We have
been traveling for several days in the more remote areas of the country. There is a breathtaking landscape of rice fields surrounded by village houses
built of mud and tin. The floors are dirt, electric is
minimal and running water is rare. Most people bathe
themselves and wash their clothes in murky green ponds or small rivers. Sometimes they have been able to dig wells. The first day we drove from Dhaka
for 8 hours north to the Indian border to reach the
town of Kurigan. This is one of the poorest areas of
Bangladesh. After 9 hours of dodging buses and trucks
on the narrow highway, we reached a river past sundown and basically drove the Toyota van onto
a wooden raft pulled by a smaller boat. Most of the other vehicles were bicycle rickshaws, the major form of transport in the country.  My nifty REI head flashlight beamed the way for everyone to get onto dryland.  Most of these people did not read or write and had never gone more than 50 km from theirvillage. I felt like the visitor from another planet. Our accomodations were to say the least, rustic. There was a squat toilet and a sink in a dismal,primitive space next to the sleeping area. (I survived the night with my handy REI sleeping bag liner and newly purchased quilt, creating my own sleeping bag.We were greeted by a group of men, all with disabilities, who were in charge of the BPKS office in this district.  They were crippled by polio or blinded by lack of vitamin a and c, or without an arm or leg because there were no hospitals or doctors in the area when they fell and broke a limb, it became infected and then it was cut off.   So poverty and lack of education and
bad government has ruined the lives of so many people here. I will continue my story and my journey
as soon as i find another internet this week..
Thanks for providing a new pov from our cushy lives stateside. It seems so horrible to us but as you said, there is happiness and so many people in our world take anti-depressants. But the conditions suck and it’s no way to live. That’s cool you took a job — Is it volunteer? How long? Does it include travel? Does it feel good to be helping in some way? Does it feel good to be away from the Aurora house and other personal traumas? Cuidado chica. sounds peligrioso. Char
Lois,
Good to hear from you. Brings back memories from my first few days in Calcutta. I’m sure this is very different but not by much. Look forward to hearing more. Stay safe and healthy.
Love ya, Rinda