American Graduate Student Spends Summer in Bangladesh

"At last! My eyes glazed over from travel, I boarded Etihad Airlines in Abu Dhabi on the third and final leg of my 26-hour journey from Boston to Dhaka. After finding my seat, I stowed away my carry-on and shot off to the back of the plane for a pre-flight bathroom break. But first I took note of my seatmate: An older Bangladeshi man with a bright white beard, in a full white robe and his head wrapped in white cloth. As my blue American eyes met several inquisitive brown Bangladeshi eyes on this walk through the plane, it struck me that I was on the verge of entering an entirely different world. I anticipated interactions with people whose clothing was merely an indicator of the vastly different worlds we occupied – culturally, economically, socially."

...These are the words of Ami N., a Kennedy School of Government, Harvard student pursuing her Master's in Public Policy. Ami interned at BRAC USA during the winter of 2007 and is in Bangladesh for the summer of 2008. To read about her experience on her blog 'Bridge to Bangladesh', please click here.

Hello from a BRAC USA Intern

Arun Yang

Hi my name is Arun Yang and I am a junior at Tufts University majoring in International Relations and Economics. I joined the BRAC team three weeks ago as a JPMorgan Chase Public Service Intern. Before joining BRAC USA, I interned at the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund in Boston during the winter and spring of 2008. While I was at the fund, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a meeting where I met Dr. Abed and Susan Davis. In the past, I have worked at the NYANA Business Center in New York and the International Institute of Boston. Both offices are non-profits specializing in microfinance services for immigrants and refugees in the U.S. I am passionate about economic development and am eager to learn more about the intricate details behind BRAC’s innovative scaling model. I am truly thrilled to be a part of the BRAC team!

(The picture is from Spring 2007. It was taken in Reynosa, Mexico when I was volunteering at the Pilar de Esperanza Orphanage)

DukeEngage Interns Arrive at BRAC Bangladesh

Robert, Michela, John, Ann, Heather, Scott, Sam, Eric, Adam – these are our nine DukeEngage student interns. Some of them arrived as recently as two days ago, but their revving their engines, totally ready to go. Yesterday, we had a 7AM start, squeezed into two minivans and arrived in Manikgonj by 8:30AM. It was their first time seeing BRAC’s programs on the ground, and remembering how much I was in awe when I first saw BRAC in the flesh, it was fascinating to observe their initial reactions to the clients, the programs and the heat!

At the community health meeting, Michela asked me, are they here just for us? I had the same question when I saw a village organization meeting for the first time in November last year with Morgan Stanley folks. Some of the same questions that I had seeing BRAC for the first time, were voiced by the Duke kids: Did the meetings always run this smoothly? Did the women always stand up and recite the 18 promises by heart? Did the members always look you in the eye and display such confidence?

Some of the highlights of our visit to Manikgonj were talking with BRAC Primary School second graders, practicing a handful of Bengali phrases on the girls in a BRAC community library, and touring an Aarong production center at one of the Ayesha Abed Foundation locations. Over lunch, where my group tried to eat with their hands in true Bangladeshi fashion, Scott, Masa, Pushpita, Jean and I discussed the replication of BRAC’s model to Africa. Jean was interested in how BRAC trains its employees to execute its programs so well and how this is done in a different or in a similar way in Africa. Scott was swept away by the comprehensiveness of BRAC’s programs. The skeptic in him was quelled by seeing with his own eyes what appeared to be an effective, holistic model. He was curious as to why BRAC is the only organization of its kind to implement an integrated approach to poverty alleviation at a large scale. What’s the secret, he asked.

-Rachael Chong

Featuring BRAC Interns

Editors Note: Over that past year, we at BRAC USA have had the benefit of working with some remarkable volunteers and interns who bring passion, energy and fresh ideas to the organization. In this ongoing series, we will be featuring these interns and volunteers - highlight the work they have been doing for BRAC USA and BRAC

Lauren Clay



Lauren Clay, a 2005 graduate of La Salle University, received a Fulbright Scholarship to study microfinance in Bangladesh and at BRAC. She is taking a leave of absence from the New School for General Studies in New York City, where she is studying International Affairs and concentrating in socio-economic development. After graduating from La Salle, Clay spent a year teaching English at Hue University in Vietnam. Before returning to the United States, she went to Bangladesh to visit the Grameen Bank. At La Salle, Clay majored in History and minored in Leadership and Global Understanding. Lauren is interested in studying BRAC’s model of scaling up and expanding internationally

Annie Feighery



Annie is a doctoral fellow researching environment and health in global development. She recently completed an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia. Annie is passionate about BRAC’s work in maternal and child health in Bangladesh. She is also passionate about blogging, so we were the perfect match! Annie worked for us as a virtual volunteer and with her expert blogger skills, in 24 hours she set up this blog to raise awareness and donations for BRAC’s work post-Cyclone Sidr. The blog has acted as an important medium to create awareness about BRAC's work and mobilize resources after the cyclone.