DECEMBER 26, 2001

Team meets with the President

Report from Prof. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Country Director

You will be pleased to know that a delegation of The Hunger Project volunteers and staff met His Excellency AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, the President of Bangladesh on 26 November 2001. The delegation consisted of two volunteer animators - Ms. Sufia Begum, a teacher and UP member; Dr. Meher-E-Khuda, a retired college principal - and three staff. The staff included Nasima Akhter Joly, Rafiqul Islam Sarkar and myself.
 
The President showed serious interest in our work. He asked many questions and was most impressed by the fact that we have mobilized 10,000 volunteers to foment a social movement against hunger. He wanted to know more about our animators training and enquired about its effectiveness in transforming the mindset of dependency. He requested a copy of our animators training manual.
 
The President is a renowned physician of our country. Since taking office about a month ago, he has broken a long-standing tradition and started visiting people outside the Presidential palace. Referring to this, he complimented us by saying that we have also, like him, broken a tradition - the tradition of aid-dependent, money-centered development. He urged us to start a campaign of cleanliness among rural people. He offered to help us with our work.
 
After our visit, I heard from the President's personal secretary that the President had many kind and complimentary things to say about us.
 

Update: Today's The Daily Star (1/10/2002) published the photograph of our meeting with the President. It is on the 2nd page. The Daily Star is a major newspaper in Bangladesh.