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About Us

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BODHI is honoured to welcome these committed activists to our Community Advisory Board

 

Dr Shanti Raman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Shanti Raman works as a community paediatrician in Sydney, Australia. She says:

'I have had a long interest and involvement in international health and development issues. I am particularly interested in inequity at all levels, how it contributes to poor health outcomes globally and in our own backyards. I have also been involved with the peace movement, being a member of Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW), and various other peace and refugee action groups.

'I was attracted by BODHI initially because of its name. Coming from India, I was pleased to see development and health put in the context of ‘insight’. It is clear that improving the health of the most disadvantaged populations begins a long way before health services. It begins with understanding the nature of the problem, the source of inequity, empowerment, women’s status in society, the cultural beliefs and spiritual practices that operate to keep that community going, and the global forces that operate to maintain the state of disadvantage.

'I look forward to a long and meaningful association with BODHI. As a community adviser, I will strive to bring my experience in public health, development, child health and my cultural understanding of issues that pertain to South Asia to help BODHI’s initiatives.'

Dr Raman has published a paper on human rights and child health (pdf 74KB) in the Journal of Paeds and Child Health, as well as one on refugee child health (pdf 46KB) in the conference proceedings of the Population Health Congress, 'A Global World - Practical Action for Health and Well Being,' held in Brisbane, Australia, 6-9 July, 2008.

 

 

 

  

Community Advisers












Kabita Chakma, Grand Canyon, 2008

 

Kabita Chakma is the Coordinator of the CHT Jumma Peoples Network of the Asia Pacific and the Human Rights Coordinator of the CHT Indigenous Jumma Association Australia.

She has a Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Sydney. She tutors and has been working as a guest lecturer at the School of Design, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).

She is married to Dr Glen Hill, Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. She is a proud mother of two gorgeous children.

BODHI started a Human Rights Committee with Emilia Della Torre, Kabita Chakma and Susan Woldenberg Butler. Its first project was to prepare a position paper on the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in Geneva.

September, 2009: Our position paper on the CHT is now filed with ICJ's regional office in Thailand, which will be following up the CHT's situation.

 

Kulottam Chakma

 

 


Kulottam Chakma

 

 

Kulottam Chakma writes, ‘I hail from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. CHT is the southeastern part of Bangladesh bordering India’s northeast & Burma’s Rakhaine state. From early age, I became aware of the suffering of my people (Chakma, Marma, Tripura and other ethnic minorities collectively known as Jummas).

'The suffering was caused by violence and discrimination deliberately inflicted by the government & majority population of Bangladesh. For example in 1971 soon after independence, I heard how the victorious Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters of Bangladesh) massacred hundreds of Chakma Buddhists in the northern part of CHT. Their ‘crime’ was that the Chakma king Raja Tridiv Roy supported Pakistan during Pakistan-Bangladesh civil war in 1971.

‘Due to my background and shared experience of persecution, I developed a strong sense of responsibility, love and compassion to my community. The urge to help my community comes naturally to me. After graduation from the university in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1987 & after working with Bangladesh Biman (national air carrier) for more than a year, I set off for Australia in 1989 to do Master of Electrical Engineering.

'Another reason I came to Australia was to help my community bring their plight to the knowledge of Australian lawmakers. But I was disappointed with the indifference and realised that self-help was our main way to survival. That’s why I still continue to help my community.’


 

 

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