Licensed to steal!

Licensed to steal!

Two very important take-aways from this article:

(1) You need TWO licences to own a vehicle in Bangladesh, one from the police (the official one) and one from the thieves (so that you can contact the thieves and get benefits or half off when it gets stolen)

(2) If Zakat money was properly collected in Bangladesh alone it would make up about Tk 140000000000 (thats 140 billion tk or TWO BILLION DOLLARS) around 20 percent of the national budget.

If only we could use that money to sustain development and not poverty!

Poisoned Water

Poison Water - Bangladesh

This is a link to a youtube video - its a short documentary on arsenic poisoning in Noakhali, Bangladesh.

Dancing for Charity

Okay so I forgot to blog about my own attempt to contribute. Dont Judge! :P Lol.

So early this year, UTSC (University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus) decided to 'Step up for the Kids' from Jaago. It was a dance competition and numerous student groups from different universities in Ontario participated - one of them was UTSG BSA (cheers!)

Obviously as expected and predicted, South Asian Aliance (SAA) took away the prize. But the most amazing part of the show (apart from the raffle ticket sales money going to help build a third Jaago school) was ending our performance by flaunting the red and green flag. Here's a link (if you wanna read on about how and why of the event): Jaago - Step Up - Toronto Observer

And here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

This kid is so cute! He kept wandering around the whole place!

Bengali New Year

Not everyday is a sad day in Bangladesh. The first day of Boishakh marks the beginning of a new year. This is also the most rejoiced and the most colorful it gets. It is mostly celebrated by the youth nowadays, with red and white sarees, bangles, melas, meena bazaars, puppet shows, games, family get-togethers and not to mention the delicious bowls of pantha bhaath, bhorta and elish maach. 

Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Article: "Small Capital, Big Dreams" - Daily Star

I just read this article on how the owner of Labonno (I have been there a couple of times myself) used very little initial capital to start her business. With faith, persistence and a supportive partner, nothing is impossible. :)
Read on if you like.

No One Deserves To Die

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One child died while you were scrolling down to read this....

8 million children under five die every year from illnesses we know how to treat or prevent, such as diarrhea and pneumonia.

Immunizations alone are saving 2.5 million children annually. 

You and I both know thats not enough. 5.5 MILLION children are still dying. 

Did they DESERVE to die? Are they better off that way? Was it their fate or our ignorance that killed them?