Aninda Afroz
Hannah Kern, a British citizen, wants to see everyone happy and smiling. The twenty-five-year-old woman has been traveling from country to country to spread happiness among people around the world. She wants to eliminate animal cruelty. She is passionate about working for women and war children in the UK.
The name of her project is ‘Hanna’s Happiness Project’. After travelling across 5 countries, she came to Bangladesh on February 3rd. Last Tuesday, she arrived in Barishal, the southernmost city of Bangladesh.
Hannah’s goal is to travel to 25 countries on a bike to raise public awareness on all four things – happy or positive thinking of people, exclusion of plastic products, human behavior towards animals and women’s rights. She wants to finish her journey by April 2021. She started cycling from Vietnam in April, last year and currently visiting Bangladesh as her 6th country.
High School Graduate Hannah shared her story about how she started her journey. Hannah is the second oldest among her 6 brothers and two sisters. “I was a very depressed and introverted girl in my childhood”- said Hannah. But she wanted to find love and happiness everywhere. Days after days, night after nights she spent to uncover the truth of happiness.
After many ups and downs, she found happiness in five steps. These five steps are – reflection of thoughts, observation of the content around you, motivating, setting goals and starting work. When she was at the step four- taking action, she chose cycling. It is possible to roam many routes at low cost, as well as connect with more people. It is also possible to make oneself happy. “Cycling is a healthy, low-impact exercise that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from young children to older adults. It is also fun, cheap and good for the environment. When it comes to happiness, physical fitness is the first priority”- Added Hannah.
Hannah started solo travelling when she was 18. She was running two businesses as well then. But to fulfill her dream, she shut down both and started her “happiness project”.
She believes, Happiness is a package. “How we accept every event in our life depends on whether we are happy or unhappy. We should always stay positive and stop reacting to the situations we can’t control”- She added.
“Happiness Activist”- Hannah works on various issues including plastic exclusion, discrimination against animals, women’s rights and climate change. She makes people aware of these serious issues by cycling. She donated all the donations received from the people through her bike journey to the four organizations- Crisis, Friends of the Earth, Doctors Without Borders and War Child UK.
Hannah is cycling to different countries to raise awareness of the four issues she is passionate about and to set up a fund of £ 50,000 through her website- Hannahshappinessproject.com.
People all over the world has been sent around €6000 already for her charity works. Hannah believes if everyone keeps supporting her, she can achieve her goal to raise €50000 for her project.
She entered Bangladesh through the Port of Tamabil. After visiting Sylhet – Moulvibazar-Srimangal and Chandpur, she decided to cross the Meghna River from Chandpur to Barishal by launch.
When she was in a launch and heard that it will arrive in Barishal at three o’clock in the night, she became very worried. She did not have someone there in Barisal to welcome her at midnight. She became scared.
She searched for some cycling communities in Barishal on Facebook and found a group called “Lal Sobuj Society”. “I got a tremendous amount of replies just in 30 minutes after my help post on FB. I can bet that if I was in a western country and asked for help at midnight, barely someone would come to help me”, Hannah added. “Here Bangladesh and it’s people make the difference.”
What did you like most in Bangladesh? We asked this question and she said, “A lot of things really amazed me!”. “This is the most green country I have ever seen. People are so helpful and their hospitality is unforgettable”- she added.
Hannah will attend the prestigious Tedx Talk conference in Ranchi, India on 23rd February 2020. There she will share her cycling experiences and talk about her happiness project.
“I want to come to Bangladesh again. It was really a short visit. I will come to Bangladesh again just after next rainy season. I am curious to see how green it will look then as I can see green everywhere now even in winter.
I want to work with Bangladeshi youngsters. There is a tremendous potential hidden among the youths of Bangladesh. In the meantime I am creating a documentary about Bangladesh where foreign tourists are encouraged to come to this country. I want to highlight Bangladesh in my own blog and social media online”- Hannah said willingly.
In her next visit, Hannah wishes to see some positive changes in Bangladesh. She said, “First of all, I want to see the equality of men and women. Then when I come to Bangladesh, I will work with the women who are left behind. I think women in this country are still far behind men.”
Regarding her future plans, Hannah said, “I will spend some time with my family after completing this trip. Next, I will start on the journey to the Gran Canaria. From there I will go to South America by hitchhiking a boat. I will continue my Happiness Project and the desire to devote my life to social activism.”
‘I would love to have my own children but I can’t take climate change issues lightly. That is why dedicating myself for these causes became my life goal”- Hannah shared her life goal with us.