Day 2: Grameen 101 (August 2)

We began at 10:30am on Monday, August 2nd, and proceeded from the previous days discussion on Grameen products.  Most of the day was spent in class going over Grameen's structure, products, procedures and policies.  On the next day, a day trip to a near-by grameen center was scheduled.  I looked forward to this get-away after spending the first two days in meetings and class rooms.  After lunch, we assembled in the main conference room to go over what to expect for the day trip.  This was trip was to be just a general tour and observation of one of the more urban Grameen bank centers, to illustrate what we had learned so far. 

I spent some time walking down Mirpur Road after being dismissed, to people watch and to just take in the scene.  The road was lined with small dilapidated shops and high-rise shopping malls mixed with some new modern buildings being constructed for medical facilities and corporate headquarters.  An endless sight of garbage and waste was also ever present along with an uncontrolled sewer system that over-flows into the street every time it rains.  All this combined with the seemingly endless stream of poverty stricken beggars established the grim reality of this country.  I suppose if public facilities and means for income are scarce or not existent, this outcome is simply unavoidable.  Trash bins and toilets appear to be unaffordable luxuries. 

 

Day 1: Orientation (August 1)

At 9:00am I make for Grameen Bank’s headquarters located in Mirpur, a sub-district of Dhaka.  I am scheduled to begin orientation at 10:30am along with the other interns.  I was told earlier I would be working in a group of about twenty other interns from around the world.  Although Mirpur is only about 5 kilometers from my apartment in Gulshan, the traffic situation is so bad here that it is not uncommon for it take 1-2 hours to travel that distance, so I decided to start a bit early.

The Grameen Bank Headquarters is 20 story building right in the middle of a busy commercial area of Mipur.  I arrive at 10:00am and make my way to the 8^th floor of the building which where the International Programs division is located.  There I meet with a group of about twenty to thirty other students who are all waiting to begin orientation.  There were students representing almost every continent of the world.  In my group alone there were interns from Bolivia, Turkey, El Salvador, China, Singapore, Japan, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, England, Australia, Kenya, and of course the United States.  There were a handful of American students from various universities across the country, such as NYU, Columbia, University of Michigan, University of Chicago and ASU of course.  It was exciting to see so much diversity and I looked forward to all the different perspectives. 

After a couple of hours of introductions and informal discussions, we were seated in a conference room and requested to fill out several forms and to write an introduction about ourselves and our desired objectives with Grameen.  We were then escorted to an adjoining conference room, where we watched a short presentation on the History of Grameen Bank.  Following this presentation, we were welcomed by the entire program management team and briefed on rules, regulations, and expectations.  Considerable time was also devoted to safety concerns and advice with regards to living in Dhaka during the duration of the internship.

My first day was an interesting one, filled with hours of meetings and presentations.  The most enriching part of the orientation was the opportunity to befriend a group of people from so many different cultures and to share thoughts on a common interest of public service and development.   On the next morning, all the interns would be broken into smaller groups and introduced to an internship coordinator, who would be responsible for mentoring, educating, and assigning projects and tasks.  A general schedule for the next eight weeks would also be presented.  We were all given several introductory books and pamphlets to read during the week at the conclusion of the orientation.

Quick Update

During the last week I had been traveling to areas in Bangladesh without online connectivity, and therefore, have not been able to post any blogs or respond to comments, which I apologize for.

My internship had officially ended on September 29 and I have departed Bangladesh for Hong Kong, where I will be touring the area over the next week.

Since day one of my Internship with Grameen Bank, I have written detailed journal entries of my daily observations, field work, notes, interviews, surveys, and critical analysis.  I will begin posting these entries this week starting with the week of August 1rst through my last week of September 27, which will cover my entire 300 hours of service.  I look forward to any feedback regarding my work. 

Regards,

Wasim