Community visioning summit: Hearing from the people of Dhaka South

In an attempt to advocate for the often-overlooked needs of Dhaka South, the Chicago-based grassroots leadership empowerment platform Gather coordinated a summit on 13 September. 

The goal was to shed light on the challenges faced by the residents of Dhaka South, whose problems are frequently neglected by the development work in Dhaka North. 

Goldin Global Institute's learning platform Gather empowers grassroots leadership, focused on uniting the community in an honest conversation. 

Syeda Ashfah Toaha Duti, as a Global Fellow of 2024 cohort from Bangladesh, shared her knowledge from this platform with the volunteers. Selected changemakers participated in an extensive bootcamp before the summit. 

In the days leading up to the summit, volunteers worked tirelessly to distribute 128 pamphlets across Jatrabari, Dhaka, ensuring residents from all walks of life were invited. Despite the outreach efforts, only 12 participants arrived. One summit attendee shared that people in this area usually do not believe in such efforts because they haven't seen much change in this area in a long time. However, those present brought diverse perspectives, ranging from retired elderly women and university students to middle-aged men owning a chicken coup business.

The summit began with an exercise that helped people understand their privileges in order to help those who do not have it. Five participants were randomly chosen and asked to stand on a starting line, like the beginning of a race. A series of questions followed, each designed to highlight the varying levels of privilege among the participants. As the exercise unfolded, the differences in access to resources and opportunities became evident.

Following that, attendees were divided into four small groups for focused discussions, each led by a volunteer. Participants shared candidly about the problems they face daily, how those issues impact their lives, and the changes they hope to see. A wide range of issues came to light, all of which could potentially be addressed through asset-based community development (ABCD) approaches.

Some of the key concerns raised were sound pollution, lack of religious security and wastage of community assets. Others mentioned the disparity in educational opportunities, a lack of leadership in their communities, and the dangers posed by poorly maintained roads. One participant voiced a deep concern: 

"Corruption has destroyed our society. Even if we try to do something good it backfires on us." 

He later went on to tell the story of how he was beaten down by thugs just for making a demand for wider roads. 

Another participant, Mohammad Aminul Islam expressed his worry saying,

"I forget things from time to time because of my dementia. I try my best to stay healthy by cycling but the lack of a park for the elderly to walk on deeply saddens me."

The entire society's neglect towards the elderly came forward in this discussion.

Despite the challenges, hope remained strong among the participants. Many expressed a desire to see the youth take leadership roles, while others called for faster legal processes and school feeding programs for underprivileged children. 

The group also brainstormed potential initiatives to address these challenges. Their ideas ranged from establishing parks for the elderly to walk, launching renewable energy projects, improving waste management systems, and kick-starting school-feeding programs as soon as possible.

A volunteer, Zahid Hossain Shwapno from Gather reflected on the event:

"While we didn't have the numbers we hoped for, the conversations we had were rich and meaningful.I think I understand the people around me a bit better. I had no idea that the elders had so much to contribute to the development of our region".

As Dhaka South continues to grapple with challenges, Gather and its participants have shown that with strong grassroots leadership, a brighter future is possible.

Reflecting on the summit, the team will design a project that will work towards solving at least one problem spoken of in this summit. 

Oykka Shams Rodhe volunteered for the summit.