WUNRN
The Hunger Project
Anastasia Andrzejewski
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October 17, 2007 |
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Rural Bangladeshi
Woman is a 'Barefoot Researcher'
New
York (17 October 2007): Momana Begum, a rural Bangladeshi grandmother who
never learned to read or write, is making a profound difference in her
village. Momana comes from one of the most destitute families of an extremely
poor village. Despite seemingly insurmountable poverty, Momana—and her
colleagues—are improving her village and demonstrating that even those most
marginalized—either because they are poor or because they are women—can
impact and improve their community. In 2005, The Hunger Project in Bangladesh launched a “Barefoot Researcher” which finds its roots in Participatory Action Research (PAR). Barefoot Researchers are volunteers from the poorest areas and are among the most destitute people within these very poor villages. The Barefoot Researchers are trained by The Hunger Project to identify the obstacles they and their neighbors face, understand the underlying factors of those obstacles and then create solutions. Barefoot Researchers are empowered to enroll and mobilize others in their communities to work with them to carry out those solutions. Momana, after receiving her training, formed a research team of 25 other poor women from her village. These women performed a census of their village, systematically identified the main issues people had—and then armed with that data, took action. For example, Momana’s team found that the oppression and subjugation of women was rampant. As a result, the women mobilized themselves and formed a Freedom Squad to stop violence against women, dowry and early marriage. The Freedom Squad has taken actions to stop many violations of women’s freedom and safety. One action is that the Freedom Squad has mobilized their resources to purchase a cell phone to use should a situation arise that requires police intervention. Momana—and the other 5,000 Hunger Project Barefoot Researchers throughout Bangladesh—have come to discover that poverty is not their fate, that they are not less worthy and valuable human beings. Momana—and the others—have discovered that they have the skills, ability, intelligence and creativity to discover the issues that most important to their community and cause change to address those issues. They find that they have the ability and skills to end their own hunger and poverty. This discovery is key to the end of hunger and needs to be understood by the poor themselves and by the world community at large. Joan Holmes, President of The Hunger Project has said “We as a global consciousness, we as a humanity, we as a global community need to see the poor as human beings, able and worthy. We need to see them as vital and important.” The Hunger Project is an international NGO that works in partnership with grassroots women and men in more than 22,000 villages across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America to sustainably end their own hunger. It is on the roster of the UN Economic and Social Council, and has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. For more information about The Hunger Project visit http://www.thp.org |
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