View my pictures from Bangladesh:
» Highlights of my trip (43 pictures)
Find the house building sites in Purondopur on Google maps:
I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Bangladesh from 14 to 26 November 2009. Habitat for Humanity is an international housing charity which aims to eliminate poverty and homelessness. As part of a team of 11 people from the UK, I worked with two Bangladeshi families in Purondopur, in the Jessore district (south western Bangladesh), as they built themselves out of poverty, using local materials to create environmentally friendly and durable homes.
Bangladesh is flat, low-lying and subject to droughts, river erosion, cyclones and especially floods. Flooding engulfed nearly two-thirds of the country in 2004, damaging nearly a million homes and destroying almost two million acres of crops. Bangladesh is also one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. An estimated 45 per cent of the population lives on less than US$1 a day.
I paid the costs of my visit (travel, accommodation etc) but sought donations for Habitat for Humanity to use in Bangladesh to provide materials and expertise in the house-building programme. I raised over £1800 - but you can still make donations direct to Habitat for Humanity Great Britain. Thank you!
Links to more information:
» Habitat for Humanity Great Britain (website)
» Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh (website)
» Bangladesh (BBC country profile)
» Jessore District (Wikipedia)