Alain Delaune worked in Bangladesh (a small country in Southeast Asia) for the non-governmental organization Alliance Francaise of Dhaka-Bangladesh. While there, he helped train local teachers to improve education. The transcript for our team's interview with Mr. Delaune is below. To jump to different questions, use the links in the sidebar on the left.

Top

I was working for the Alliance Francaise of Dhaka-Bangladesh, heading the training of the teachers there so that they could teach children.

Top

The two main causes I saw in Bangladesh are overpopulation and unequal distribution of wealth between North [richer areas] and South [poorer areas]. Read More... In Bangladesh, families can be very large - more than eight children - and there is a high child mortality rate. Collapse...

Top

First, I think even before education, you have to make sure children have the health; and food they need to develop and then be able to learn. Read More...

Then, education can play a big role in the prevention of diseases like HIV/AIDS or diarrhoea. In Bangladesh, children still die from diarrhoea. If people were educated on some basic principles of hygiene, this would not happen.

Then education helps to create freedom for the people. If a landlord tries to expulse you from your field and you are not educated, you can’t defend yourself, you almost become a slave. If you can read, you can better defend yourself. Collapse...

Top

Girls’ education is very important because in countries like Bangladesh, the official role of women is to educate children, to run the household, to manage the budget of the family. Read More... Also, they usually don’ t have much money - there are even some organisations that set up micro-credits, like a loan of $50 to buy a cow... and they only lend to women, not to men. By the way, in Bangladesh, the prime minister is a woman. Collapse...

Top

Families do not send their children to school, because they need the children to work in the fields or in the factories. Read More... Today, there are systems in place to pay the families so that they send their children to schools instead of the sweat-shops.

Once you have convinced people to send their children to schools, the challenge is to have enough schools and enough teachers. Collapse...

Top

In the seventies, after the war of independence and a tsunami, there was a terrible starvation in Bangladesh. However, today, in Bangladesh, most of the people have enough to eat. Read More... It is located in tropical area in the Ganges delta. There is a lot of rain and they can make up to three rice harvests per year. The Mmain causes of death are illnesses like tuberculosis, diarrhoea - even colds. Indeed in November and December, cold air arrives from Himalayas and temperature can fall to 7 degrees Celsius [45 degrees Fahrenheit]. Collapse...

Top

Of course UNICEF is very present and important, but there are also other associations that are more efficient. Read More... UNICEF is a big administrative machine and lots of money is invested in the administrative costs. Some other organisations are smaller with less costs and most of the money is used directly to help people, such as a local Bangladesh organisation, 'Care and Terre des Hommes.' Collapse...

Top

When I came back from Bangladesh, I was rich with my experience. However when I talked to people about it, they could not understand. Read More... It is not enough talk about it, when you just talk, people are not interested, the world you describe is too far away.

Of course, you can make films, you can tell, you can show photographs, however the best solution is to go [and see what poverty really is] for yourself. Collapse...

Top

I would have a better [more equal] distribution of wealth between North [rich, developed countries] and South [poor, developing countries]. Read More...

I would try to make people less egoistic.

I would make education available for all girls and boys. Collapse...

Top

Delaune, Alain. Personal Interview. 4 December 2005.

Top

Copyright © 2006 ThinkQuest Team 00282