Beginning today and lasting throughout November, the organization Global Nomads will be collecting donations for its project, Support a Pregnancy, on Turlington Plaza from noon to 4 p.m.
A $15 donation will sponsor one pregnant woman in Bangladesh for checkups, the hospital stay during the actual delivery of the baby and neonatal care. The donation also contributes to child care education for the women, provided by the nurses.
Mahmuda Akhter, the president of the Global Nomads, hopes the organization will be able to sponsor at least 100 pregnancies by passing on all money directly to the women with no administrative costs.
“There’s no amount of money that can equate to a human life,” Akhter said. “A pregnancy here costs so much money. But just because over there it takes a small amount of money, it doesn’t mean they’re worth any less.”
Some Bangladeshi women remain under extreme stress during pregnancy because of lack of food, abusive husbands and other critical problems that people in the U.S. might not always consider or face, Akhter said. Bangladesh does not lack medical training, but the country’s poverty rate is so high that doctors often leave due to a shortage of medical supplies, endangering the lives of the pregnant women.
Sanjida Shahalam, vice president of Global Nomads, agreed to raise money for the impoverished pregnant women as soon as Akhter pitched the project.
“At the end of the day, someone needs your help,” Shahalam said. “We always say we want to change the world, but you realize that you can. We can do something tangible.”
While global interaction and awareness of issues is the main goal, Akhter and Shahalam never forget the support system Global Nomads provides. As self-proclaimed “third culture kids,” Akhter said she and Shahalam, whom she met freshman year, do not belong to the culture of their parents or the culture of the U.S. because they have lived in so many parts of the world.
“I think it’s a universal feeling to feel like you don’t belong sometimes,” Shahalam said. “But when you travel a lot, you get to see more people in other countries. You feel privileged and like you have to give back.”
