The founder of Creative Corners: The Global Arts Project discusses volunteering while traveling abroad.

The river has become so polluted that the water has literally turned black and has a glue-like consistency. With failing infrastructure and little investment in systems, thousands of people living on the bank of the river have little or no choice but to continue to use this highly contaminated water to wash, bath and even to drink.

Thousands of children are being sold or trafficked within and across national borders in South Asia. According to United Nations, more than one million children are subject to sexual exploitation in Asia alone.

Horrible as all this may sound, it is important to understand that for many children, earning a living or supplementing their family’s income is a matter of survival. Slogans like “Stop Child Labor” embody romantic and ultimately impractical notions when it comes to places like Bangladesh.