Osaka Jogakuin College students report on their visit to Chittagong, Bangladesh. It has a history of poverty and persecution of Burmese refugees. The college (Wilmina is its nickname) has contributed money to start and maintain a charitable hospital, including for children. The students speak bilingually, so it provides a lesson in either Japanese or English as a Foreign Language.
After the students’ 18-minute recorded presentation, one of the students is interviewed for 5 minutes. That script is below to read while listening:
Steve McCarty interviews Osaka Jogakuin College students about Bangladesh hospital
#1 What is the relationship between OJC and CHC? (her group’s PPT slide shows Wilmina Children's Hospital, supported by Osaka Jogakuin College, in the CHC hospital in Chittagong)
O.K. our relationship between OJC and CHC was started in 1992 when our senior graduates donated some money instead of using it for a graduation party and built a children’s hospital at CHC. Then, we students started to visit CHC since 1995.
#2 Bangladesh is mostly Islamic, but what are some minority groups?
Many Bengali people are Islamic, but in Chittagong, there are 13 tribal peoples and they immigrated from Burma. They are almost all Buddhist and some people are Christian.
#3 What will happen to Bangladesh with global warming?
It will flood and almost all the land will sink under the sea because Bangladesh is really low, so it can be easy to sink. Moreover, even now, floods often happen in Bangladesh.
#4 Some of the nurses don't look South Asian. They look more Southeast Asian. Who are they?
They are tribal people, not Bengali people. Because CHC accepts many minority people.
#5 What is the Community Health Program? (It looks interesting because they try to prevent health problems before people need to go to the hospital.)
It is one of the CHC’s activities. Their activities are vaccination for children, giving lectures on family planning, and so on. They do these activities outside of CHC such as at a tribal village.
#6 Are Bangladesh people so happy although they are so poor economically?
I think almost all Bangladesh people looked very happy. Because they always smiled when we said hello and we tried to talk. They try to live, although poor. And they have many troubles, not only economic problems.
#7 What did you learn about yourself in Bangladesh?
I learned many things. I learned our sense of values is not always the right thing. The thing is that I thought I could understand, but I realized I could not understand. And I noticed that Bangladesh people are proud of their country despite their hard living conditions. This visit became a signal to enter these problems and be concerned with Bangladesh. In addition, I am able to make a chance to look at the problems around us over again. My feeling and learning cannot be expressed completely here.
