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A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

The Impact of Service "Speaking with locals and living in a country is the best way to learn about the real lives of citizens, not just the stories in the mainstream media. I will be more critical of what I read as a result of this experience. I also feel even more grateful for my education, and I feel a stronger responsibility to assist others who do not have resources or access to opportunities in their communities." Maria Skouras (New York University) volunteered in 2011 as a Peace Fellow for eHomemakers in Malaysia. For more 2011 feedback click here.

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ICT Empowers the Blind in Bangladesh

Rasheed Rahman works as a telephone switchboard operator at the headquarters of the HSBC bank in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The job pays 10,000 taka ($148) a month, which is a good wage in Bangladesh. 

Rasheed is also blind. He owes his good fortune to his own persistence and to the Blind Education and Rehabilitation Organization (BERDO). Rasheed realized as a young man that education offered the best chance of getting ahead, and he learned English from listening to the BBC World Service. He majored in history and earned his masters degree in 2000. 

But the economy in Bangladesh offered few opportunities, particularly for the visually impaired. Rasheed spent five years looking for work, until BERDO recommended him for an internship at HSBC’s call center. BERDO also gave Rasheed six months of IT training, using software that is tailored for the visually impaired (JAWS - Job Access With Speech). 

At the end of his internship, Rasheed was offered a full-time position at HSBC. He loves the work because he has to handle many calls from overseas in English. “I am very much indebted to BERDO,” he says.

In an interview with The Advocacy Project, Rasheed said that he does not feel disabled. This is echoed by his colleagues, who quickly became accustomed to his limited mobility. Areef, who sits beside him at the HSBC switchboard, described Rasheed as reliable and friendly, before helping him to the interview.

Rasheed continues to push himself to learn and advance. He recently placed an advert in the Dhaka paper seeking English-speakers who could meet and talk with him on a regular basis. He is also looking for pen-pals in the United States. Anything to improve his English.

Meanwhile, BERDO’s IT program has also received a welcome boost. Staff members at Plural Investments LLC, a New York investment firm, have given a generous donation to BERDO, in response to an appeal from Danita Topcagic, who served as an AP Peace Fellow with BERDO last summer. Part of the donation ($900) will cover the cost of six months of IT training for five blind people, like Rasheed. The remainder ($270) will pay for braille books at BERDO’s school for blind children.

Saidul Huq, the founder and director of BERDO, expressed deep gratitude for the donation.

Click here to donate.

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