As we entered the 5th hour of what should have been a 2 hour journey by normal Bangladesh standards (or 50 mins by  Canadian standards), we finally stopped for a washroom break. We journeyed from shop to shop asking if we could use their toilet. Finally a restaurant in the basement of the local masjid let us in. As I squatted over the in-ground toilet I thought to myself, “finally, something to write about in my overdue newsletter.” But why is that? Why must all our letters have some great adventure storyline? As we continued on past the protests and finally arrived home another 30 minutes later I realized the truth is, our life is full of beautiful experiences and opportunities but they don’t all make compelling narratives. So I thought we’d take this letter to explain a bit of our day to day ministry. It may not be as exciting as my favourite Tintin travel adventure story, but it is no less valuable to share.

Jessica and I did not know much about our roles before moving to Bangladesh. We knew our titles and eventually got job descriptions but had no idea how those descriptions would materialize into daily duties in Dhaka. Now 5 months in we feel we have enough experience under our belts to explain what it is we do each day at Territorial Headquarters (THQ) and beyond.

Jess

As Territorial Development Officer, I am responsible for overseeing our projects. Within the Army there are 4 main types of projects: community development, mission support (MS), emergency/ rapid response, and small projects. 

The majority of my time is spent on our 4 community development projects. Briefly, they are:

1. Pathways to Women Empowerment: our vocational training centre in Old Dhaka teaches vulnerable women how to sew and tailor clothing. Women are connected to crucial services in their community such as legal support, health services, and other vocational training, so that they can be empowered in their everyday life. Communities also receive awareness sessions on important issues such as human rights, gender-based violence, and child rights and protection, among others.
2. Sahanasilata (Resilience) Bangladesh: Our largest project spanning across 3 clusters and 9 upazalias (municipalities), this project promotes resilience to climate and economic shocks by working directly with farmers, market committees, community members and government officials. Climate-smart agriculture, disaster risk reduction and management, WASH initiatives, self-help groups, and awareness on gender rights, peace building, and positive caregiving are all part of the project’s holistic approach to community empowerment and mobilization.
3. Healthy and Safer Communities (Phase 2): Our clinic in Mirpur-11 provides much needed medical support to people with leprosy and TB. The project primarily serves the Bihari camps in Mirpur, and this phase looks to increase awareness on preventative measures to illness with a new focus on good nutrition and WASH practices. Self-help groups, youth and kids clubs, and medical campaigns are also part of their regular activities along with promoting community awareness of gender equity, child rights and positive caregiving.
4. Breaking the Cycle of Exploitation: Our health care and counselling centre (HCCC) in Jashore supports women who wish to leave the sex trade. In addition to helping them physically leave the brothel, our project staff help them reintegrate into society by finding suitable living arrangements, connecting them with vocational training and startup capital, and providing ongoing counselling support. We also run a drop-in centre where children from the brothel can access a nurturing and caring environment to learn, play, rest and develop positive social skills. Working in communities with vulnerable children, the project works directly with families, youth, schools, and community religious leaders to spread awareness about trafficking and how they can play a role in actively preventing it. 

Another main responsibility is acting as the primary contact for our supporting territories (aka donors/ partners). This means being accountable for all the narrative and financial reporting, working alongside them to ensure the project reaches its outcomes, and hosting them when they come to visit. I hosted my first monitoring visit last month with representatives of TSA Switzerland… who were actually Filipino! I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing Tagalog (and how much my comprehension was decreasing – soon I’ll know more Bangla than Tagalog 🥲). We have a team from the UK arriving this weekend to film our project in Jashore for their upcoming fundraising campaign, so that will keep me occupied next week. I also work with our Development Coordinator to close off several old projects in the Army’s international project management platform and manage the reporting of more recent/current ones in collaboration with various departments. And like any office job, I often find myself in meetings: monthly project expenditure boards, monthly 1×1’s with the project managers, bi-weekly Territorial Management Committee boards, and weekly Programme/Development Committee boards. If you’re wondering why I haven’t messaged you back… this is why 😂

Despite how chaotic my schedule often looks and feels, I am SO thankful for all the things I’ve learned so far and all the ways that God is growing me – I’ll save my reflections for a separate blog post 🙂

 Jahred

As Programme Coordinator I have the privilege of holding less responsibility than Jess (at least from an organizational hierarchical standpoint) which frees me to explore many interesting avenues. I am primarily responsible to support and aid our Secretary for Programme who oversees all corps (church) activities, development work, and institutional programs. Across the territory we have 35 corps, 4 development projects and 2 schools. I have recently started working closely with our Integrated Children’s Centre and Blind School in Savar helping them develop a new sustainability plan and repair some property. Another large focus is supporting the other programme department staff, mainly our Territorial Youth and Candidates Officer and the Corps Support/Income Generation Officer. Currently I am aiding in our implementation of Alpha, running our pilot session at THQ tomorrow! I have also been working towards building a territorial youth group network called Branches of Life which will bring 45 youth from across the territory together for weekly online bible study and quarterly in-person bible teaching / ministry training. To support some of these programs I have been working on resource development, outsourcing translation, and printing. 

This large net allows me to jump from project to project and dip my feet in work across both the church and social arms of The Salvation Army. Still, like Jess, I sit on a few boards notably our programme/development board, literature board, risk management board, and policy boards when needed. As one not built for full-time office work, I have the pleasure of attending and facilitating various affairs across the territory including site visits, corps assessments, trainings, and rallies. Outside of work responsibilities I have also gotten the chance to preach at two corps and a children’s rally in Savar, with another one coming up in Jashore.

Jessica and I have also made an effort to connect and liaise with other NGOs. I had a chance to tour the Bangladesh Bible Society facilities, and together we have connected with leaders from Tearfund, Society for International Ministries, and Liebenzell Mission International. We have looked for ways to collaborate in ministry, connected to get a better picture of the current ministry landscape in Bangladesh, and supported each other through prayer. We all are working towards one kingdom goal which we know will only be reached through ecumenical collaboration. 

Outside our office days we have still been up to a few misadventures. We have made a new rickshawala friend named Babu who we regularly call on to drive us around the city. He has started calling us his big brother and sister and enjoys both practicing his English and teaching us new Bangla. One day, as though he was reading my mind, he asked if I would like to drive the rickshaw (a childhood dream). We switched seats and he played passenger as I steadied the throttle and took us around the block. If this ministry thing doesn’t work out I’m glad to know I have a second use here in Bangladesh.

Though some days it feels we have already lived a life’s worth of work, we recognize that this is merely the beginning of what God has laid before us. We have no idea how our work will shape and change over the next 2.5 years, but we do hope to continue to the end. Which is why we have a big prayer request for those who made it to this point in the letter… Our work permits have not yet come through which means we do not yet have permanent visas to work and live in Bangladesh. Recently, our extended entry visa expired and we were denied another extension. So why not leave for a visa run? I do not claim to understand the system fully, but an exit visa is required for us to leave which would also take much time and money to obtain. So we are currently stuck in the country, racking up charges for each day we stay without the work permit and visa granted. Jessica is supposed to go to Bali, Indonesia at the end of the month for a Salvation Army development conference and MEAL workshop. Please pray we are able to resolve these issues in time for her trip and so that our financial penalty will be minimal.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.