Pre-departure Thoughts

With less than a day before we leave, the excitement is really starting to kick in! I'm not looking forward to the lengthy 13 hour flight on top of two other flights and a layover, but this will be all worth it once we land in Dhaka. From there we are given a few days to settle before driving 7 hours north to our home base for 4 weeks in Rangpur.

We've already been provided an itinerary for this service learning experience and I am getting excited to see all the development projects, education programs and healthcare clinics coordinated through RDRS Bangladesh. Already on the first day in Rangpur we will be visiting a rehabilitation center, which take in young women who have been victims of abuse and provide them protection, counceling and training, allowing them to maintain their independence when they are ready to return to community. I expect this first exposure to be especially difficult and impactful while at the same time inspiring optimism through the numerous success story of this program.

After participating in this service learning experience I hope to be exposed to a broad array of services collectively being applied to address the social needs of each individual community we visit. I am personally interested in practicing in Public Health and will likely focus my attention on these services coordinated by RDRS, but I realize that all the services offered are equally important in targeting the social disparity experienced around the globe. As I have no experience and little knowledge of the social services offered in impoverished nations, I hope to be exposed to as much variety and at all levels of administration from coordination and planning to the application at the local level. Lastly I am looking forward to be immersed in Bangladeshi culture and gain experience communicating in a foreign country despite all our differences.

Expect to see many photos in my upcoming entries!!!

Sincerely,

Evan