TELLING A STORYLIVING AND WORKING IN NEPAL AND BANGLADESH

The Big Question________________________________________________________________

Why on earth did I do this??

Last day at work________________________________________________________________

Mid Life Enlightenment________________________________________________________________

Places important for me to spend time________________________________________________________________

Nepal – because I love it there

Places important for me to spend time________________________________________________________________Bangladesh – the birthplace of microfinance

Places important for me to spend time________________________________________________________________Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand

and Spain – family and friends

Places important for me to spend time________________________________________________________________India did not feature on the original plan (but I went there anyway)

Dec 2013 to Dec 2014 travel ended up looking like this________________________________________________________________

EUROPE• Ireland: Cork, Kinsale,

Galway and Swinford.• England: London and

Holmbridge.• Spain: Madrid,

Ponferrada to Finisterre, Santiago de Compostella, Alicante and the Costa Blanca

ASIA• Nepal: Kathmandu,

Kavre, Banepa, Pokhara and Lumbini.

• Bangladesh: Dhaka and many rural villages.

• India: Kolkata, Varanasi, Jaipur and DelhiAUSTRALIA & OCEANIA

• Australia: Melbourne and Bairnsdale• New Zealand: Christchurch

Dec 2013 to Dec 2014 travel ended up looking like this________________________________________________________________

Nepal, Bangladesh and India________________________________________________________________

Want to hear more about the rest of my travels?________________________________________________________________

Check out my blog:www.bowen2bangladesh.wordpre

ss.com

Nepal – how did that come about?________________________________________________________________• Dr Peter Wing and Dr Claire Weeks, SpiNepal

www. spinepal.med.ubc.ca

• Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre, Kavre, Nepal www.sirc.np.org

• Inaugurated by the late Sir Edmund Hillary in 2002.• Through funding from Mountains to Mountains and Sir Michael

Kadoorie, the purpose built rehab centre was opened in 2008.• It currently offers SCI rehabilitation for 52 patients from across

Nepal.

Daily Life in Nepal________________________________________________________________I stayed with Lok and his family in Banepa

Daily Life in Nepal________________________________________________________________Daily yoga and walks around Banepa

Daily Life in Nepal________________________________________________________________Buses = scary!

Daily Life in Nepal________________________________________________________________Festivals & Celebrations

Daily Life in Nepal________________________________________________________________Food – yum!

Daily Life in Nepal________________________________________________________________Spending time with Mingmar and family

Working at SIRC – the highlights________________________________________________________________

Working at SIRC – the highlights________________________________________________________________

Working at SIRC – MBA Interns________________________________________________________________

Working at SIRC – achievements________________________________________________________________ Program Development

Disability Tourism Networking and Communication

Relationships Continued to foster existing relationship with Swiss & Canadian medical teams,

Livability UK, Motivation UK, Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, AWON and AIN. New relationships extended to Lloyds TSB (UK) and Sadle Trading (Bhaktapur),

Rick Hansen Foundation (Canada), Canada Gives (Canada) and ACE School of Management (Kathmandu).

SIRC’s Communication Plan SCI Awareness Program

Social Media, LinkedIn, Staff Script, launch of “SIRC Friends” campaign, School Presentations

Ram’s Wheelchair Yaatra Online Newsletter Improved Online Presence Online Donations: e-Sewa, Big Gives and soon to be launched Canada Gives.

Working at SIRC – achievements________________________________________________________________ Fundraising

Poor Patient Care Fund launched in Europe and Nepal. Heating installation - in-kind expertise from Cork-based Heating Specialist Kevin

Fitzgibbon. Facility Painting – in-kind donation from Nepalese paint manufacturer Successful events completed:

March 1 International Wheelchair Day April 7th SIRC 12th Anniversary (local awareness & celebration) Ram’s Wheelchair Yaatra Fundraiser & Journey. March 21st, 2014. Annual Golf Tournament. March 22nd, 2014. Kadoorie visit to SIRC. March 27th, 2014 Dinner and Silent Auction Fundraiser. April 4th, 2014

Human Resource Management Team Building (Karen Hilton) Performance Management system (Karen Hilton) Succession Planning (Karen Hilton) MBA Interns (Kate Coffey)

Sad to leave my friends in Nepal________________________________________________________________

Next stop Dhaka________________________________________________________________

BRAC www.brac.net________________________________________________________________Founded in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, initially to provide assistance after the War of Liberation.

Today it is the largest NGOs in the world, is self-funded up to 80% to deliver it’s programs which include microfinance.

What is microfinance?________________________________________________________________ Microfinance is the provision of financial services

to low-income people.

Finances income-producing activities, build assets, stabilize consumption, and protect against risks.

Usually focused on groups of women who through peer support, repay loans (90%) and go on to better the health and wealfare of their households.

Usually includes a savings component also.

Microfinance in the Mymensing District________________________________________________________________• Chorkali Village

Microfinance in the Mymensing District________________________________________________________________• Horipur Village

Microfinance in the Mymensing District________________________________________________________________• Shobjipara Village

Microfinance – does it work 40 years on?________________________________________________________________ • Not everyone is an entrepreneur yet it’s the only way for a

poor person to secure a loan.• Debt cycle: women come back for additional loans once

the previous loan is paid off. • Credit surfing: some husbands take the cash the women

get as loans, leaving the woman with the debt and no way to earn money to pay it back. She then may be forced to go to another institution or worse a moneylender to get a new loan, to repay the initial loan at higher interest rates. This is a detriment to the wellbeing of the family.  

• Results speak volumes. Aside from a small number of women who had difficulty repaying the loan, the impact of microfinance on the majority of women was significant and positive.

Microfinance – a few suggestions________________________________________________________________• Set up co-operatives and social enterprises. Buy

communal equipment (crafts, farming, fishing etc) for the extended community to use so that the whole community can benefit.

• Include men with good reputations within the community. The tables have turned on gender discrimination, many men can no longer access credit like their female counterparts.  

• Most I spoke to liked BRAC’s approach to the ultra poor which includes an asset grant (a cow, goat, chickens etc), a food stipend & basic literacy and numeracy training for 24 months. Results show 75% - 98% of participants progress out of the ultra-poor category.

BRAC Youth Program in the Mymensing District________________________________________________________________

• Jamipur Village

Fish Farming – a community effort outside Mymensing________________________________________________________________

Social Enterprises in Dhaka________________________________________________________________Ayesha Abed Foundation• A production centre where mostly women (and some

men!) dye bolts of fabric; block print beautiful Bangladeshi designs onto lengths of cotton with hand-carved wooden blocks; and embroider exquisite designs onto shalwar kameez and kurtas. Staff benefits include a dinner program, childcare, health & eyesight care and flexible hours.

Aarong• A BRAC-run retail store that sells handmade products

from small producers from every district in Bangladesh. Assists rural women distribute and market their handicrafts.

Social Enterprises in Dhaka________________________________________________________________Sanitary Napkins Manufacturer• A BRAC-run social enterprise that employs poor women

to manufacture the napkins, allowing them to earn an income. Staff benefits also include a dinner program, childcare, health & eyesight care and flexible hours. Making low-cost sanitary napkins available to poor women and girls allows them to leave the house during menstruation and continue their work and schooling.

Garden Centre• A BRAC-run garden centre that employs poor women to

cultivate plants for Bangladesh’s middle and upper class. Staff benefits also include a dinner program, childcare, health & eyesight care and flexible hours

Social Enterprises in Dhaka________________________________________________________________Arshi• Run by the Salesian Nuns in Dhaka, they train young

girls to fine embroider beautiful designs, which they then sell primarily to the ex-pat community in Dhaka.

• The nuns also sell the nakshi kantha designs by world-renowned Bangladeshi artist Surayia. Surayia is now in her 80s and had the foresight to train a group of young women to continue this Bangladeshi art form.

• Threads is a documentary that tells Surayia’s story, check it out on www. kanthathreads.com.

Social Enterprises in Dhaka________________________________________________________________Pebble Child Hathay Bunano• A social enterprise that employs poor women to knit &

crochet knitted toys for kids that are for sale in Europe & North America. Staff benefits include childcare, eyesight care and flexible hours.

Saying farewell to Dhaka________________________________________________________________

Was it all worth it??________________________________________________________________

A resounding YES!!

Thank you________________________________________________________________

Questions??