Bangladesh

In 2015 YANAF received an email from the CEO of Design Bangladesh, a non-profit organization, asking us to bring Caring Coins to the children of Bangladesh to remind them that they had not been forgotten by the world. CEO Mahmudul Karim Rubel thought the Caring Coins would be a tangible reminder for his students of the power of connection. He believed our visit could give them hope for the future.

School administrators, faculty, and students in Vermont were more than happy to accept this invitation. With Rubel’s help, we designed a card with the words “Tumi Kokhono Eka Nao,” meaning “You are never alone” in Bengali. Students and our YANAF senior volunteers attached the cards to 4,000 Caring Coins bound for Bangladesh. GNAT-TV a Public Access Station in Manchester, Vermont even made a video with our Vermont students saying “Hello Bangladesh!”

On Saturday, March 13th, Salley and Betsy (YANAF Board Members) and Chris, a college student, were ready for their Caring Coin journey. Their message: “You and the students in America and everywhere are our future…You can make a difference in this world…reach out to each other…learn about each other…connect with each other.”

Rubel and his staff coordinated an itinerary for us starting with a press conference. We visited five schools including a school for disabled children. At each school students greeted us with smiles, words of welcome, handshakes, and beautiful flowers. They listened as Chris talked about his dreams for the future and eagerly answered questions about their peers in America. To our “Hello Bangladesh!” video, they enthusiastically responded, “Hello America!”. Finally, we explained how students had signed the cards attached to the Caring Coins they were receiving. The response was amazing.

Each school prepared a Welcome Program where the students sang and danced for us. One of the songs repeated over and over again was “We shall overcome” which brought tears to our eyes. Chris was invited to join in the entertainment and dance with the students which he did. The door was open to the caring connection.

We also shared Caring Coins with unhoused children living in a park, and children at a girls’ orphanage and a boys’ orphanage. And a school for disabled children. When we returned to the two orphanages the following day, the children came running out to the vans wearing their coins around their necks. Some of the girls drew pictures for us with messages like, “today I am not alone”.

Our itinerary also included a visit to a TV studio, a garment factory, a historical village, museums, and an Archaeological dig that dated back to at least 3rd century B.C. We even participated in a “football” game between members of Design Bangladesh and the local football team. The entire town came out for the game. Our own Chris made two goals to win the game!

Our dream for fostering a caring connection between our students here and the students in Bangladesh had started. We went through our 4,000 Caring Coins very quickly, and an additional 2,000 were sent (after we returned). After seeing the hope in the faces of our students signing the cards, and the excitement of the students receiving the Caring Coins, it was undeniable: caring connection is needed and possible.

“Our experience in Bangladesh is difficult to put into words. Pictures say more than we can express. The strongest impression we have of Bangladesh is that of the people and how welcoming and friendly they were to us. We shall especially remember the children, the joy in their eyes, their eagerness to learn more about us…how they wanted to have their pictures taken with us…and how they wore the Caring Coins around their necks. Although there is great poverty and problems in Bangladesh the people have a very strong love of family and their country and hope in their hearts. The people of Bangladesh and the memories of our trip will remain in our hearts forever…”

—Salley, Betsy, and Chris