The careers of NGO field‐workers in Bangladesh

This article looks at field‐workers employed by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh. It can be argued that NGO field‐workers, who work directly with clients, are an undervalued and underused resource in Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey, participant observation, and semistructured interviews of field‐workers in four types of NGOs (international, large national, regional, and small local) revealed that they are from rural, middle‐class families and, because the work requires rigorous physical exercise, most of them are young. They do not join NGOs as field‐workers enthusiastically, but rather to have a job and earn money. Most field‐workers in Bangladesh must leave the job when they grow older or (in the case of women) get married.