We spent the first 11 days of our trip to Bangladesh in the capital city of Dhaka which, though dusty and busy, is full of wonderful bright colours. After a day of rest at the guesthouse and a long journey in a hectic traffic jam (they really are as severe as everyone had warned), we eventually made it to our first stop: the Liberation Museum. Here we learnt about Bangladesh's War of Independence and its struggle against West Pakistan.

After a little more sightseeing and some interesting visits to local development projects, we began our training from Dhaka University's Centre for Disaster and Vulnerability Studies. There are eight UK volunteers in the Bangladesh team and we are divided into three areas to co-ordinate with VSO Bangladesh's 'model village' concept. This work plan seeks to establish good practice in each of the villages and to then be able to apply these to other rural areas of Bangladesh. During the training we learnt about the practical development tools we could use to map good practice and assist us in designing our projects. We also heard about the activities of previous ICS volunteers in the villages so that we could decide how best to continue.

The Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Picture: taylorandayumi/Flickr

Joining us on our placements are students from Dhaka University and local youth volunteers from each village, which makes for a great combination of backgrounds and perspectives. The focus of each of the projects varies, but I am in the north-west and working closely with the youth club to establish a successful dairy farming co-operative.

We received a very warm welcome from the whole village on arrival and were presented with flowers and led to our host home. After only a few days we have already made our day-to-day work plan and visited service-providing agencies, such as the local agriculture department.

We are currently conducting a baseline survey of the co-operative members and also have a Community Action Day coming up that we need to organise and prepare for - so the team are being kept very busy. Having said that, life has a very gentle pace here, with people slowly passing by on their bicycles and we are still managing to find the time to play some essential games of cricket!

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Podcast: returned ICS volunteers.

Ceri, Esi and Mohammed volunteered for ICS last year. Hear them talk about their experiences in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya in the latest DFID podcast. Listen here, or subscribe on iTunes.

This month, I shall be leaving London to work on a dairy farming and livelihoods project in Bangladesh as part of the International Citizen Service (ICS), a youth volunteering programme funded by DFID.

A woman fishes for shrimp in Khulna, Bangladesh. Picture: Radef Anwar/DFID

Having filled in all the forms, completed the three-day training and received the necessary immunisations, the preparations for my trip are well underway. Naturally, my curiosity about what life will be like in a rural village in north-west Bangladesh has led me to trawl the internet, meticulously reading many websites, articles and blogs. What I have learnt is that there are certain aspects of my trip that I am just unable to prepare for - the vast population will surely be the first to strike me on arrival in Dhaka - yet this research has also served as a pleasing reminder about why I first applied to take part in the ICS.

During the three-month project, my knowledge on dairy farming will undoubtedly improve, but working alongside young people of a different culture, faith and viewpoint will also allow for a greater understanding of a range of development issues.

The ICS, in bringing together young people to work on a development project, brings an opportunity to share skills and increase awareness of wider problems affecting communities. For example, whilst there are many shocking statistics about Bangladesh's extreme poverty and hazardous geography, it is facts concerning women and girls that I, as a young British female, have been most taken aback by.

In being able to compare my own situation with many women of a similar age in Bangladesh, issues such as child marriage and its repercussions become a distinct reality. A report from UNICEF in 2010 found that 66% of girls in Bangladesh marry before they are 18 years old, despite it being illegal. Working with local young people and living with a host-family in a rural community will most likely be a huge eye-opener to such practices.

Early marriage is as linked to poverty and gender inequality as it is to culture and religion, and can have serious effects onwomen's health and education, directly obstructing several of the Millennium Development Goals which the ICS aims to help achieve. Combining the efforts of young people is a unique and invaluable way to empower youth and raise awareness of development challenges, and this does not stop when returning to the UK.

The idea behind ICS is to share what I have learned and encourage others to join the fight against global poverty long after leaving Bangladesh, as mobilizing others to act on injustice and inequality is a powerful, relevant and necessary resource both nationally and internationally.