Get emergency help to injury victims in Bangladesh

Training the Surfer Girls of Bangladesh

On the south-east coast of Bangladesh, bordering the Bay of Bengal, is the world's longest sandy beach: Cox's Bazaar. Many believe it is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Bangladesh, but it is also home to "the Surfer girls of Bangladesh", an incredible group of young girls that CriticaLink is proud to be working with. The surfer girls are a group of girls aged about 8-13 from underprivileged communities near the beach who used to make money selling trinkets and food to tourists. Thanks to their amazing coach, Rashed, the girls have learned to surf and have become national icons for women and girls in sports.

When we heard that many of the girls were interested to train as lifeguards so they could work in their community, stay close to the beach, and save lives, CriticaLink reached out to train them in important first-aid and CPR skills to help with their training. However, we also found out that the girls were being harassed and attacked on the beach, sometimes being beaten and sexually assaulted. We were extremely upset to learn this and decided to devise a program that could empower the girls and keep them safe.

During the 3-day long project, CriticaLink brought down a group of experienced First Responders to do training in first-aid, CPR, and water safety to certify the girls and help them reach their goal of becoming life-guards. Two of our female volunteers, including a medical doctor, did a women's health workshop and clinic with the girls, teaching them important information about their bodies and reproductive health and answering any questions they may be too embarassed to ask. Finally, we ended with a dynamic self-defense workshop taught by two of our volunteers and Karate experts, Rahat and Daif, who have been training the CriticaLink women in self-defense for the past year. 

The project was a great success! The girls had a great time, walked away with knew knowledge and skills, got their certification for CPR, and hopefully felt empowered to continue their training as surfers as well as being able to keep their community safe. Thanks to the publicity we received with this project, we were also able to help fundraise additional money for their education and training, and help connect new sponsors who have donated computers and done training with the girls on digital literacy and technology!

Team Leaders Building New Ties in the Community

Over the past few months, CriticaLink team leaders have been building new bridges in the communities we serve in Dhaka, and by doing training programs and workshops at schools, universities, and medical colleges outside of Dhaka.  We have opened up our training to include five new Junior First Responder programs at high schools around Dhaka, and have reached out to work with medical colleges in Chittagong and Mymensingh, two other cities with major trauma hospitals.  In addition we continue to hold monthly training sessions at our office in Dhaka, and host several team meetings, workshops, and social events to team build with our volunteers. 

Recently Team Leaders have taken to the streets with volunteers to talk to people in the communities they serve and let them know about CriticaLink and how to contact them in an emergency. We are also working closely with the Police Stations in these areas so that we can bring everyone together and cultivate a sense of community in the areas we serve. 

Program Director recognized with Queen's Young Leadership Award

CriticaLink is incredibly proud to announce that our Program Director, Rahat, has just been selected as one of two youth from Bangladesh to receive the Queen's Young Leadership Award. The award recognizes young people in the Commonwealth who are impacting their communities and changing the world.  We are very excited for Rahat who will travel to the UK and meet directly with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to be presented with the medal, and then spend a week at Cambridge learning more about leadership and social impact. Rahat is being recgonized for his exceptional leadership and work with CriticaLink, and we are truly excited for him to win this award!