15 Students of 11 countries from Architectural Association (AA), School of Architecture which is the UK’s oldest and only remaining private educational institute of architecture visited YPSA’s different social development programs during 10-11 January 2016.
The team attended a Radio Talk Show to share their objectives and experience of Bangladesh tour on Community Radio Sagar Giri FM 99.2, Sitakund on 10th January. After that they observed the ICT training for Youth Leaders of YPSA-Leadership Development Program and distributed different equipment to the participants. Then they observed the erosion of Muradpur sea beach of Sitakund where land of the Muradpur union submerged under the sea every year and peoples leaving the erosion prone areas. They talked with numbers of displaced peoples living in the embankment. During the visit, Station Manager of Radio SagarGiri Md. Shah Sultan Shamim, Program Officer of YPSA-HLP Prabal Barua and Production Officer of Radio SagarGiri Sanjay Chowdhury were accompanying with the team.
The team of Architectural Association (AA) members then visited YPSA head office and attended a meeting with YPSA senior team, where Chief Executive, Mr. Md. Arifur Rahman, Director (SDP) Mr. Md. Mahabubur Rahman and Mr. Palash Chowdhury Director (Finance) were present. In the meeting, Prabal Barua, Program Officer of YPSA-HLP initiative presented the HLP initiative of YPSA about climate displacement and Rights of Climate Displaced Peoples in Bangladesh. After that Mohammad Ali Shahin, Program Manager presented the shipbreaking activities of Bangladesh.
This team then visited Foyez lake Slum where YPSA providing microcredit for the numbers of climate displaced peoples. In the evening the team visited the Patenga embankment where thousands of climate displaced peoples living here and there on the embankment without rights of housing, land and property. The peoples here told about their sufferings after displaced from the origin land and present living condition on the embankment.
The Architectural Association (AA) team expressed that they came to know about the climate change impact in Bangladesh from newspaper and television but this visit practically open mind’s eyes about climate change reality in Bangladesh.
