Welcome to my page and thanks for taking the time to visit...

So here's the deal...as many of you will already know I am heading out to the homeland (Bangladesh) in August as part of a volunteer scheme called Porishōd (meaning ‘the act of giving back') run by BRAC UK. I will spend 2 months working in the capital Dhaka and will also make some rural field trips during my placement. I am really excited about this opportunity and know that you are all very excited for me!

I would take you all with me in my suitcase if I could…but I can’t! So instead, please show your support and help me raise some money for BRAC and the invaluable work they do. Your money will go towards the scheme and the rural and urban projects run by BRAC in Bangladesh.

Key Facts

Population +160 million

Almost 50% of the population live on less than $1 a day

40% of people live below the international poverty line not meeting daily food needs

Only 80% of the population have access to safe drinking water

64% of women (aged 20 - 24) were married before they turned 18

Only 47% of enrolled primary school students complete primary school

13% of children are involved in child labour

Who are BRAC? BRAC started as an almost entirely donor funded, small-scale relief and rehabilitation project initiated by Fazle Hasan Abed to help the country overcome the devastation and trauma of the Liberation War and focused on resettling refugees returning from India in 1972. Today in Bangladesh alone, BRAC works to combat poverty in 70,000 villages and 2,000 slums, and reaches three quarters of the entire population with an integrated package of services for rural and urban communities including healthcare, education, family, business and legal support for some of the world’s poorest people. BRAC now also run programmes in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Southern Sudan, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

The Porishōd scheme has been created in partnership with the Department for International Development (UKaid) and VSO. DFID and VSO believe in supporting diaspora communities in the UK to volunteer their skills in their countries or continents of heritage. The idea is that, along with the ability to understand the culture and language, diaspora volunteers will bring back knowledge and experience to promote development awareness in communities in the UK and overseas.

Please take the time to watch the video on this page and if you want to learn more about BRAC visit: http://www.brac.net/index.php

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now.