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Zaian Chowdhury

Zaian F Chowdhury is a senior writer and (a very amateur) photographer at BRAC Communications. With a background in English Literature, she is passionate about documenting the story of humans in an ever-changing world.

July 13, 2017
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jul 13 2017
Categories
equality

No tragic hero

But as soon as night falls, she replaces her sari with a colourful salwar kameez and swaps the bucket on her arm for a row of shiny bangles, ready to take the stage. Alpina acts in a popular theatre group that regularly travels across the northern villages of Bangladesh.
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July 6, 2017
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jul 06 2017
Categories
climate, equality, financial inclusion

Meet the millennial who’s changing our farmlands

Peeking from behind the tin door is Ibrahim’s two-year-old daughter, Amena, in a blue polka dot dress, and a kitten in her arms. Another kitten appears and darts across the courtyard. Ducklings scatter about in panic.
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June 29, 2017
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jun 29 2017
Categories
climate, equality, financial inclusion

The flock formula

It is difficult to monetise how livestock impacts a household's income, but it certainly increases resilience in vulnerable households. Growing rice or vegetables, especially in time of unpredictable weather and natural disasters, is often a risky venture. However, livestock is easier to take care of. For example, sheep and goats are adaptable assets that are not vulnerable to seasonal changes.
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June 22, 2017
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jun 22 2017
Categories
financial inclusion

The mother of ducks

As the western sky grows rosy pink, and the paddy fields on the east turn deep green, hundreds of brown little dots are suddenly seen scrambling in the horizon. Within minutes, a flock of quacking ducks approach the main road, and amongst them, walks a woman in a bright blue saree.
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March 7, 2017
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Mar 07 2017
Categories
skills, Staff blog

Kicking it like a girl

You may have read the news today. A teenager was harassed on her way back from school. A housewife, raped and murdered. Just the other day, you read about the rape of an eight-month-old baby. Do these stories bother you? Or did you fold up the newspaper and sigh in relief thinking, “At least my daughter is safe.”
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October 11, 2016
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Oct 11 2016
Categories
skills, Staff blog

Korail slum’s karate queens

Today is International Day of the Girl Child, and the karate girls of Korail in Bangladesh are screaming – as they are most days.
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June 30, 2016
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jun 30 2016
Categories
climate, crisis

Post-disaster recovery: Don’t forget the children

“What’s there to be afraid of?” they shot back, shrugging their shoulders with cheeky smiles. This was their reaction to Cyclone Roanu, which swept the coast of Bangladesh on 21 May 2016, killing 21 people and destroying 200,000 homes.
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January 12, 2014
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jan 12 2014
Categories
climate, crisis, health

Haiti’s on its feet again, literally

Today marked the four-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. Our friends at AmeriCares write about Herve, a patient at the BRAC Limb and Brace Center, who like so many others lost his legs in the quake: After having both legs amputated when they were crushed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 19-year-old Herve struggled. He was given prosthetics that did not work well and couldn't go to school or join his friends.
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July 1, 2013
Published by Zaian Chowdhury at Jul 01 2013
Categories
climate, crisis, financial inclusion

Tilling the Tanzanian soil for development

How can we quickly boost farmer incomes so they have a chance to lift theLike 80 percent of Tanzanians, she earns a living from agriculture. The smile on Khabitu’s face suggests she’s doing well. She works as a model farmer, demonstrating good techniques to her neighbors at her small vegetable farm, which she tends with her husband Said, in Iringu, central Tanzania.mselves out of poverty?
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