This is a piece from my November reportage to Bangladesh. After spending a couple of days in Sunamganj District in the north, I flew south, to the edge of the Sunderbans, a protected mangrove forest. and spent time with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation visiting villages affected by Cyclone Aila.
Cyclones are nothing new to southern Bangladesh but villagers say that storms are coming more frequently and with increasing intensity. Switzerland's development agency has pioneered a program that provides villagers with cash grants to invest in business opportunities.
Lives have changed over the past couple decades here, along with the weather. Cyclones are breaking the embankments meant to protect villages and protect the rice paddies from salt water. Aila washed away shrimp and fish farms, and the increase in the water's saline content means that rice has become more difficult to grow.
Many children in Africa suffer because of bad advice. In Sierra Leone, women are sometimes told to feed infants formula rather than breast milk. Parents literally squander their meager resources to watch their children waste away.
I'm not sure how "breast is best" translates into Krio but this video is a good explanation.
We made this on my last visit to Sierra Leone, in August 2008.
In August and September, spent a couple weeks on reporage in Sierra Leone and Liberia. I'd been in Sierra Leone for a year prior to moving to Switzerland and it was my first time in neighbouring Liberia.
And then there was this video. We held the footage to make a little piece for International Women's Day. For more information on fistula, see the links on the right side of the page.