Dr. Lira Chowdhury’s Experience Volunteering for DCI
My name is Lira Chowdhury;l I grew up in Dallas, Texas and I feel privileged to have a family who could provide for me. I am proud to admit that I have an excellent family and very good friends. Reflecting on my life, I was going to a great school but was not sure what I wanted to do with my life or what path was the right one for me. What was my purpose? My family was a bit worried about my confusion and lack of direction. My parents are from Bangladesh and almost every year we would travel to their home country. It was on one of those trips that I witnessed the reality of harsh poverty.
I realized my life was very different from most Bangladeshis and I wanted to help but did not know what to do or how to go about affecting change. In high school, I reached a turning point after I met Dr. Ehsan Hoque at an event in Texas where he was talking about DCI and his work in Bangladesh. At this initial meeting, I was immediately drawn to him and I knew I wanted to be a contributing member of DCI. Dr. Hoque, himself, gave me his full attention, listened to what I said, supported me and helped me take on small projects. I started off with small fundraisers, recruiting sponsors for the Sun-Child Program and organizing different events. After I graduated from high school and started college, I began my own chapter of DCI at the University of Texas at Austin. Shortly after Cyclone Sidr struck in 2007, Dr. Hoque and Dr. DeBroff invited me to a mission trip to Bangladesh. The cyclone was a terrible disaster that devastated much of Southeast Asia and Bangladesh. We went to rural sites that were affected, Patuakhali to be exact, where the cyclone was at its worst. We delivered chlorine tabs for water sanitation and distributed blankets and first-aid supplies. I was overcome by how grateful the villagers were for what little we could give! It was incredibly moving to witness firsthand the smiles on the children’s faces. After Patuakhali, we visited the rural town of Feni, another project area of DCI, located some distance away from the cyclone zone. This tiny village put on a welcome show for us “visitors.” The children were dressed with warm smiles, pressed clothes and clean shoes. It was hard to tell they lived in mud huts with tin rooves and no electricity or running water. It occurred to me that this was a product of what WE provided through DCI; it was extremely motivating and humbling. Dr, Hoque wanted me to see and feel what we were working for. That said, he then made arrangements for me to visit and see child laborers. I witnessed an 8-year-old boy operating a sewing machine in Zinzira, the garment district of Dhaka. Even with laws in place now – child labor is real! At the end of the trip, I was able to join the opening ceremony for DCI’s Childhood Blindness Prevention Program at BIRDEM Hospital. I visited a DCI clinic for the extreme poor in Dhaka and also a DCI-sponsored orphanage. I was able to even watch Dr. DeBroff perform a free cataract surgery.
This trip was a life-changing event for me and made me realize I wanted to do something where I can help people. Dr. Hoque motivated me to be a physician! I realized that, if I become a physician, it will put me in a position to help people not only in the United States, but also in countries like Bangladesh. After I returned to the USA, I gave my full attention to medical school. Dr. Hoque stayed with me, supported me through advice, helped with resume writing, gave great recommendations and connected me to DCI’s network.
I successfully entered medical school. In fact, today I am nearing the end of my residency training as a Surgeon in Urology at Detroit Medical Center, MI and soon will begin working at the Health Center of the University of California, Irvine. Working for DCI has been incredible and has provided communication, organization, leadership and technology skills that I use today. Most importantly, I learned how “commitment” is critical to success. My volunteer experience seriously impacted my career and helped mold the person I am today. I am very proud to say that I received recognition and an award by volunteering with DCI. My volunteer work definitely helped build my resume and cultivated the person I am today. Looking back, I feel fortunate that I met Dr. Hoque and that I had the opportunity to immerse myself with DCI in my childhood; this was a game changer. It has been a truly incredible honor to have Dr. Hoque’s guidance and encouragement in all facets of my life’s decisions. DCI has seriously contributed to my successes today, and I hope to continue my efforts to help DCI for my lifetime in the same way DCI has helped me grow. My advice to all young people, immerse yourself in DCI at any age, at any level and in any capacity. It changed my life for the better; I am proud to be a volunteer, student and surgeon committed to changing the lives of children globally by turning privilege into purpose. — Dr. Lira Chowdhury, Urology Surgeon, Detroit Medical Center (DCI Volunteer since 2005)
The work that you all are doing is really, really super incredible, and it’s so in line with what we hope to do at Khan Academy. Obviously, education is one of those foundational things that we need to make broader if we really care about empowering as many people, especially children around the globe. I wish every success of DCI and strongly believe that the initiative will change the world.
At Save the Children, we join DCI in its mission of fighting poverty, hunger, child labor, and preventable blindness. Congratulations on this impressive convening. I know that it will lead to better outcomes and brighter futures for children everywhere. 
As Yale’s president, I am proud that our campus is home to this significant forum for advancing the cause of child rights. The partnership between Distressed Children & Infants International and Yale is built on shared values, and has proven to be deeply and reciprocally fruitful. The organization’s core mission, much like the university’s, is one founded on service and leadership. 
Every child no matter where they are borndeserves the opportunity to live a happy, healthy and productive life. Unfortunately, both here and abroad, poverty, inability to access modern healthcare and educational inequality continue to erect barriers that stand in the way of children meeting their full potential. I applaud the efforts of Distressed Children & Infants International for their sustained commitment to improving the lives of children worldwide, including efforts to ensure that all is being done to protect and promote child vision and eye health. I was grateful to participate in DCI’s conference and look forward to following and supporting their continued efforts. 
I congratulate DCI and its leadership, particularly its executive Director, Dr. Ehsan Hoque for the laudable work on the children especially under the Sun Child Sponsorship Program that provides long term support to underprivileged children and their families in remote Bangladeshi villages. This program has enabled hundreds of children to complete primary education with many pursuing secondary and higher education. The DCI Health for the Underprivileged Program is also reaching free health care including maternal and natal care to the doorstep of the needy in deprived areas. DCI’s vision and activities assures it becoming a center of excellence in child development. 
In August 2014 I visited Kallayanpur slum, where I witnessed the good work of DCI. I was so impressed that DCI is engaging in some of the most challenging parts of Dhaka. DCI has brought good health care to the 9000+ dwellers of this particular locality, and this is a real game changer for the people who live there. I was fortunate to meet volunteers conducting a desperately needed eye clinic. I was pleased, too, to help inaugurate a telemedicine center. DCI is changing lives in Bangladesh! DCI brings hope to the most destitute: what a wonderful thing.
Dan W. Mozena,
U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh 
I have taken DCI’s mission as my own, working towards the mission as DCI’s Goodwill Ambassador. I have visited DCI’s projects in the slums and the villages and was amazed to see the tremendous need and the effort DCI is giving to help. The basic difference between DCI and other organizations is that they involve the parents and the entire community towards impacting the child. Community groups of women, men and children are made aware and empowered to tackle their own problems, instead of outsiders coming to ‘help’ them. DCI’s approach of ensuring child rights is a holistic concept, which guarantees lasting change for generations to come. The most important unique point is that DCI involves North American youth in all its activities to help children in other countries, thus helping children to become globally-minded future leaders. This is why I support and believe in DCI. Please come join us and let move forward together towards our mission to create a world without poverty and child labor.
-Babita Akhtar, Actress 