Please be kind, rewind

There have been a few things on this trip that I haven’t had a chance to write about, so I’m trying now to catch up.

On our way back to Dhaka from the Fisheries, we stopped and visited two Social Businesses, Grameen Danone Foods (Dannon Yogurt) and a Grameen GC Eye Hospital in Bogra. Grameen Danone Foods was conceived after Frank Riboud, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Danone and Professor Yunus met in Paris in 2005. In February 2007, the plant in Bogra produced its first yogurts. This partnership is working to reduce poverty by a unique proximity business model that will provide daily healthy nutrition to the poor of Bangladesh. Grameen Danone Foods Ltd. is the first investment supported by “danone communities,” an investment fund, created to support businesses that aim to be sustainable, but make social and societal goals their objective. And yes, we were given samples. I liked the Mango flavored best.

Operating right next door is one of the two Grameen GC Eye Hospitals. One of their main objectives is to ensure quality eye care treatment which is affordable the people. We also learned that the hospital operates camps where they visit the rural areas and offer eye examinations. One camp costs 4,000 takas, and our group took up a collection and donated 5,500 takas for a future camp. I especially know how important eye care is as I broke my glasses the first week of the trip and have been using reading glasses to be able to function. It’s no fun not being able to read without them!