Hold its own...

I want to fix this.

I want to eradicate all poverty.
I want to house every family.
I want to feed every village.
I want to provide a safe environment for every child.
I want to ensure safe drinking water is available for all.

It's very easy to be overwhelmed by the scope of the problems faced by this country. I consider myself a pragmatist as well as an idealist, and as such never entertained the possibility that my "wants" were at any time true goals to aspire to. Yet, even as a pragmatist, even drawing upon previous experience, even believing to have prepared myself for the inevitable frustrations that would arise, I still go through periods of unreasonableness, of frustrations I know to be irrelevant and yet cannot curb.

I find myself constantly, and quietly, questioning, doubting, criticising the international communitiy's plans and responses to Bangladesh's problems.

The reality is, of course, that I am a nobody in the world of International Development. My practical experience of this industry is spread over the epic timeframe of an entire 2 months. I concede that I lack the experience and expertise to make any judgement regarding any activities carried out by any agency or group.

Nevertheless, I DO question.
Why build temporary shelters in areas prone to flooding?
Why hand out 5 sweaters to a man who owned 1 shirt to begin with, nevermind that current conditions?
Why build a playground for children before building homes for the parents of those children?

Why, in a country prone to natural disasters, is there not more effort and capital put aside to prevent such disasters, or at the very least respond appropriately? It is easy to observe some NGOs are being required to perform miracles at every turn, and to their credit, on many occasions they do.

They say God Bless the child that can hold its own.

So add another sentence to my list above:
I want to help this country hold its own.

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