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Jun 29, 2007

"When you help, you see life as weak. When you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul." --Rachel Naomi Remen

Teenage Hero of Dhaka's Slums

By age 18, Doly Akter's work in the slums of Bangladesh to help improve health and education has been widely praised, even earning her the chance to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Although born in an area with problems in health and education, Doly's mother saved hard and sent her daughter to school. Doly, in turn, starting serving the neighborhood. Two years ago, she and a group of women started a project to try to improve living conditions, starting with house-to-house visits of the 2,000 families in the slum, checking up on the health and hygiene, and offering basic advice - such as how to prevent diarrhea. As she sets off for university, Doly is convinced that the momentum of their work will continue, with the group planning to tackle the dowry issue next.