Samba Kings are gone, but AA Bangla’s blog is here to stay…

Two weeks since we arrived back in Sydney from Dhaka. Swapped street stall Chais for Gloria Jean’s Cocoa Loco  Frappacinos. My fun-loving Bengali chums for Bondi’s skinny-jeans set. And Bollywood movies for nightly viewings of MasterChef (still waiting for Bangladeshi special).

Sure, I’m missing the vibrant City-of-Richshaws, and my ActionAid (AA) amigos. But glad to be home, with my beloved, family and friends. And I’m relishing the chilly days. Besides, we left Dhaka on a high – Brazil and Argentina were still contenders in the 2010 World Cup.

Now they’re out, and Bangladeshis will be crying their gulabs out. Without doubt they’re the planet’s most loyal football fans, especially to the Samba Kings and Maradona’s boys. Warning to the South American coaches: if you value your life, don’t travel to Bangladesh – they’re a forgiving people, but not that forgiving…

Memories are fading fast, and our Bengali adventure now seems like a sugary condensed-milk coated dream. It’s as if all that Dhaka dust clogged up my synapses. Even so, there are certain images that remain seared into my psyche.

Colours defined Dhaka and our experience: bright saris, jazzed-up rickshaws, kids paintings, and of course the Brazilian and Argentine flags, which are surely no longer part of the skyline.

And of course there was the poverty. At bottle-necked intersections, it was hard to ignore the street kids and crippled oldies who swamped your car, trying to squeeze trapped passengers for a few taka. Never got use to that. But street kids still goofed off as any other kid would, even while simultaneously ducking oncoming traffic and selling roses.

Made friends for life, and I’m still in contact with the AA Bangladesh team, including Hasan, Amir, Towfic; possibly the most switched-on group I’ve ever worked with. Wonder if Hasan’s sampled the Vegemite yet, thus overcoming his biggest fear.

On a professional note…

Tracking AA’s slick new blog, and watching as it develops into an eye-catching and expansive marketing and educational tool.

Not a religious guy, but if it wasn’t a mini-epiphany I had in Bangladesh, it must have been acute heart burn.

During a recent radio interview, when asked about the power of social media, I waxed lyrical about how networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter can attract global attention in literally hours. Before Project TOTO, there’s no way I’d have been so Gung-ho. But as I stared blank-faced as Sharna conjured up Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts, social media’s vast potential started sinking in.

From Dhaka to Denmark, scores began adding AA Bangladesh to their profiles – more than ten for every fried pakora we gobbled down, and that day we popped a-plenty. Loads of comments too.

And a portal to the outer world opened, big time.

Swedes, Aussies and Brits encouraged Puspo to not give up and pursue her dreams. Not-so-long-ago-PM Kevin Rudd started following AA Bangladesh on Twitter . Has Julia Gillard picked up the baton, I wonder?

From Dhaka to Denmark tweeters and facebook-heads were discovering AA Bangladesh and their amazing projects, like Happy Homes and the Community Journalist’s Group (CJG). Massive exposure in real time, and it was epic.

But exposure’s not enough. These incredible initiatives, like Happy Homes which gets kids off the streets and into homes where they can play, learn and develop skills in a safe, caring and creative environment, or the CJG, which teaches teenagers invaluable skills that ensure them the brightest futures, need funding to stay afloat. Although it’s got loads of hits, I’m not sure if AA Bangla’s blog has led to increased sponsorship or funding pledges.

This is the real endgame. Dialogue is great, but if the projects don’t exist, there’s nothing to talk about. Social media’s power lies in the special link sponsored kids can form with their US and European benefactors. Instead of biannual reports, they can chat in real-time about their lives and challenges, so sponsors can track their charges progress. It’s more transparent, sociable, educational, and in the end more rewarding. It’s also a great marketing pitch to get new sponsors.

So I guess that’s where we’re heading – for Project TOTO Bangladesh, and on a larger scale. I’ve little doubt our work with the AA Bangladesh bears fruit as ripe and tasty as the mangoes Hasan served up on the last day.

Since food metaphors have peppered my posts, I’ll wrap up with that one and, of course, the very highest of hopes…

Learn more about ActionAid and Project TOTO:

• ActionAid Australia website
• ActionAid Australia on Twitter
• ActionAid Bangladesh Blog
• ActionAid Bangladesh on Twitter
• Joel Katz profile
• Sharna Bremner profile

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