Country: Bangladesh

Q&A: IVLP Alumna Tawhida Shiropa on Her U.S. Exchange and How She’s Supporting Her Community During the Pandemic

World Learning alumni around the globe are contributing to the COVID-19 response efforts. Many of them are using experience, knowledge, and resources they gained on their exchange program to stem the spread of the virus and support their local communities as they grapple with the impacts of the pandemic.

Tawhida Shiropa, IVLP alumna

Tawhida Shiropa is the founder and CEO of Moner Bondhu, a social enterprise in Dhaka focused on mental healthcare. She was previously the features senior sub-editor for Prothom Alo, one of the largest daily newspapers in Bangladesh. In February 2020, she took part in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange focused on media responsibility in the age of disinformation.

When Shiropa returned home to Bangladesh after the program concluded, the COVID-19 outbreak had already started spreading fear in her community and around the globe. World Learning corresponded with Shiropa over email to ask her how the IVLP program has impacted her work, her current projects, and how she is involved in the response to the global pandemic.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Tell us about your IVLP experience. What were some of the most memorable moments and highlights?

The best part of the IVLP program is building a platform where I had some amazing experiences with my IVLP colleagues. I will never forget all the conversations and arguments over many global issues that I had with them. Visiting all the host families during the trip was also memorable to me. I got to see and experience U.S. culture and its people very closely this time, which I consider a blessing.

Tawhida with her homestay family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

My dinner experience with the Miller family in Pennsylvania will always be in my mind.* I had such a fun yet inspiring conversation with them, and I will cherish that memory. I also met a very good friend among my IVLP team members who I hope to stay in touch with. The whole melting pot culture of the IVLP program has impacted me and my thinking process.

I also presented about the work we do at Moner Bondhu at two universities during the program. I will never forget the appreciation and overwhelming support from the participants. I went to communications arts high school, where I was introduced to some students, who were very curious about mental health. I told them about my organization and they were so impressed that they connected with Moner Bondhu on social media to stay updated about our activities. Some of them also said that they would like to volunteer for us once they graduate high school.

* IVLP participants often have a Home Hospitality experience — a dinner hosted by an American family at their home, which helps improve participants’ understanding of U.S. culture.

What have you been working on since you returned from your program?

Since returning from IVLP, I have focused more on creative writing and thoughtful content development for the betterment of my community. The program expanded my understanding of this age of disinformation. I brought confidence, motivation, and lessons learned back to my country, as well as improved writing skills and an ability to look at issues from a different angle.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 outbreak had already begun to alarmingly spread fear and frustration by the time I came back to work, not only in my country, but globally. I anticipated how fear and panic are deteriorating people’s resilience to fight the novel coronavirus. That is why I realized that globally the need for mental health and psychosocial support services during this crisis is a necessity. Moner Bondhu is calling out loudly for support and trying to implement dynamic activities to meet the high demand of counseling support and awareness programs.

Supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), we are offering 24/7 free tele-counseling and video-counseling to handle the mental stress due to this novel coronavirus situation. We are also publishing awareness posts, short videos, and live programs on Moner Bondhu Facebook page. We have hosted a webinar session with the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka on the necessity of mental healthcare during such a global crisis.

I also produce and develop content for Monher Bandu’s television show, Moner Kotha, Phoner Kotha, on Nagorik TV. The show will air every Saturday to talk about mental healthcare and healthcare guidelines during the novel coronavirus pandemic and advocate for mental healthcare services.

What impact has the pandemic had on you and your work?

Staying home during a lockdown is certainly very difficult. But it is also an opportunity to spend quality time with my family. During this time of unprecedented uncertainty, we are all concerned about the safety and well-being of our family members, friends, and colleagues. I try to stay strong and help people face the situation with awareness and bravery, not fear.

Apart from that, I am spending a great many hours at Moner Bondhu. The overall activities of the organization have increased many folds in order to fulfill the demand for counseling and mental healthcare support from my community. With the increasing number of clients, new collaborations and more people seeking psychosocial support, I am working very hard, sometimes more than 10 hours a day finishing the organizational activities.

How has your IVLP exchange impacted your work?

The program I participated in, “Media Responsibility in an Age of Disinformation”, could not have been more relevant. Right after returning from the U.S., the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in my country and as in all other countries, people started to feel the panic, stress, and anxiety of the situation. I immediately jumped to work with my organization to ensure that we provide correct information to not spread panic but, instead, to calm everyone down. We have continued to share important and accurate information, alongside publishing content to keep people’s spirits up during this time.

Thanks to an initiative by another IVLP alumna, the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh also promoted Moner Bondhu’s services on their official Facebook page. I also spoke about mental healthcare during COVID-19 on the monthly radio show produced by embassy, which was shared on the official IVLP Facebook page. I am truly grateful for this support and feel very appreciated and encouraged.

Communities Connecting Heritage

Communities Connecting HeritageSM  Program Impact

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CCH Alumni Small Grants

At the conclusion of the program’s third year, the CCH team opened the Communities Connecting Heritage Small Grants to organizational and community member alumni from all three CCH cycles. The following projects were selected for CCH Small Grant implementation.

Kristina Llane (Albania)
Title of Project: Beekeeping Tradition as and Educative Tool

This project aims to preserve and share the importance of local beekeeping traditions in the Gjirokastra community of Albania. Kristina will work with elementary school students to cultivate youth interest in beekeeping’s cultural role in their community. Throughout the project, students and teachers will contribute to an educational book on beekeeping to that will equip teachers to continue sharing with future classrooms. The project will conclude with a panel discussion focused on protecting and preserving culture, tradition, and the environment in Albania.

Kalpana Gagdekar (India)
Title of Project: Connecting Community with Their Traditional/Heritage Cuisine

This project will explore and document the Chhara community’s traditional cuisines, which are experiencing a disappearing effect under modern global influences. Kalpana aims to document the rituals and heritage of Chhara cuisine through seven video interviews with Chhara women elders. The project combines modern technology with traditional food heritage and welcomes Chhara members of all ages to reclaim and rediscover their own heritage.

Mandala Theatre (Nepal) and Creative Connections (Connecticut, U.S.)
Title of Project: Hamro Sanskriti: Preserving Cultural Heritage through Participatory Theatre

The goal of this project is to provide youth in Connecticut and Nepal with a deeper connection to their own culture through student-led virtual workshops. The workshops – spearheaded by theater trainers in Nepal and Connecticut – will teach participatory theater techniques to 250 high school students and conclude with a model forum theater piece produced by students for the public.

Athar Lina (Egypt)
Title of Project: Rawya: The Water Women

Rawya: The Water Women is a Cairo-based project aimed at restoring the historically significant Sabil Um Abbas, a 19th century religious building and gathering place, into a usable community space once more. In addition to restoring aspects of the building, the project will connect U.S. and Egyptian women storytellers Donna Bryson and Chirine El Ansary to curate a storytelling experience of powerful 19th century women from their respective countries. Their work will culminate in a video exhibition that will be on display in the newly renovated Sabil Um Abbas for the local community to experience.

Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (India) and University of Northern Colorado (Colorado, U.S.)
Title of Project: Reclaiming Heritage II: Building Social Bonds and Bridges with Cultural Heritage

This project will utilize digital library resources at UNC to create and share cultural heritage “snapshots” with the broader community. These short videos will help immigrants and refugees in Colorado and indigenous peoples in India share their cultural heritage while building bonds with their local communities. The project will provide its participants with the ownership and platform to share their own heritage while paving a pathway for integration with others in their community.

Outside the Lens (California, U.S.)
Title of Project: Youth Tellers

Youth Tellers is a cross-cultural collaboration between Latinx youth in California and Bosnia-Herzegovina, relying on the concepts of past, present, and future to explore students’ complex cultural identities. Using digital media tools including photography, videography, and youth-facing communication forums like Discord, the project will culminate in a virtual exhibition showcasing the participants’ cultural heritage exchange with one another.

Explore the Story section on the right to learn more about the unique cultural heritage projects implemented since 2018.

International Visitor Leadership Program

End of Year Report

Chosen by U.S. embassies worldwide to participate, distinguished professionals include:

  • parliamentarians
  • government officials
  • entrepreneurs
  • NGO leaders
  • journalists
  • academics
  • arts administrators
  • mid-career professionals

Programs focus on policy issues in areas such as:

  • government
  • international security
  • foreign policy
  • entrepreneurship
  • economics and trade
  • media
  • women’s leadership
  • education
  • public health
  • arts
  • agriculture
  • disability rights and inclusion

World Learning staff members design national itineraries, arrange logistics, set up meetings in Washington, DC, and coordinate the collaboration of U.S. Department of State program officers, interpreters and International Visitor Liaisons, and more than 85 community-based member organizations from the Global Ties U.S. Network who arrange local programs nationwide.

Participants

Most participants are mid-career professionals and emerging leaders, and for many, this is their first visit to the U.S. Groups are of varying sizes, from single visitors to groups of 25 or more. World Learning program staff work closely with their State Department counterparts to design a program customized to the project objectives and the visitors’ interests.

 

Participant Selection

IVLP candidates are selected solely by U.S. embassy personnel in each country. There is no application form. World Learning is a private sector partner of the U.S. Department of State; our role is limited to designing programs for participants once they arrive in the U.S. For further information regarding the program, please consult the U.S. Department of State’s website.

Program Design

A typical project includes up to a week of meetings in Washington, DC, to provide an orientation and overview of the theme and to introduce visitors to federal officials and agencies, national organizations, academics and think tanks, nonprofits and NGOs, and professionals in their specific field of interest. All projects include a briefing on the US federal system of government. Meetings may include panel discussions, site visits, workshops, individual interlocutors, job shadowing, or service opportunities. Visitors typically travel to an additional three or four cities in geographically diverse regions of the country; the itinerary may include a state capital and a small town to provide first-hand exposure to the great diversity that exists in the U.S. Also included in the program design are hospitality dinners, school visits, community service activities, and cultural events such as rodeos, state fairs, festivals, visits to national parks, or events that highlight some unique aspect of the region visited.

Participant Experience

“My recent experience in the IVLP program is so far the deepest ever for me to see and understand the full picture of what America as a country is like. I strongly believe this program will have a very long-term impact on my views about America and the world and to some extent it has already helped me to understand many long-time questions.” – Journalist from China

The International Visitor Leadership Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.