Najmun Nahar

“ Traveling – it leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta.   Some people are born with a knack for traveling, it is implanted in their hearts and minds from the moment they are born. Traveling and wild adventures come with a sense of freedom, just like a breath of fresh air. Najmun Nahar is a Bangladeshi traveler and peace activist.  

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Inspiration

It all started when she has a young child, her father used to present her with books regularly and tell her amusing stories about different places. Her grandfather always told her stories of his traveling days in the Middle East, and she loved to hear about them. Both her father and grandfather were fond of traveling, and the saying apple does fall far from the tree goes perfectly with this situation. While other children loved to read fairy-tale books, Najmun loved to read the atlas, found it a fun activity to locate countries in the map, learning about capital cities and international currencies fascinated her, and in school she geography was her favourite subject.   

The adventure begins

In 2000, Najum went on her first international tour, participating in India International Adventure Programme taking place in the hills of Pachmarhi, India. There were students from over 80 countries, and Najum had the time of her life doing all sorts of activities like rock climbing, safari, living in a tent in the forest, early morning walks with acquaintances. From then on her traveling days began. So far she has visited 135 countries and by 2021 she plans to visit 200 countries.  

Challenges faced

Najum has done nerve-wracking adventures and only those who have risked going too far can find out how far one can go. It was always sunshine and daises during her trips. She had to face countless challenges. She once got stranded in a mangrove forest in the middle of the night, got stuck in a sandstorm in the Sahara desert. Najmun had an altitude attack while climbing the Rainbow mountain in Peru. She started feeling dizzy due to decreased oxygen level, that caused breathing problems. A friendly co-trekker was kind enough to let her borrow his inhaler, which helped her regain her strength and control over her body. While scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, halfway through the journey, her pipe started to leak, inundating her mouth with saltwater. She suffered from skin rash and bleeding due to the scorching climate in the Atacama in Chile, where rain has not been seen for over a century. On her way from Havana, Cuba to Cienfuegos, the vehicle she was traveling in with other people broke down.

There was no one around as far as the eye could see, only surrounded by large fields. The weather was skin peeling hot and they hydrated themselves by drinking sugarcane juice, which they got from a field nearby. They hitchhiked from passing cars continuing their journey. Najmun had to take an 11-hour motorcycle ride to travel from Liberia to Ivory Coast. She had to pass through narrow streets, rocky paths through forests and encountered countless poisonous insects. This resulted in her taking an antidote, it took 15 days for the pain to ease but she still carries the mark reminding her of her tough journey. During her travel days in West Africa, for 3 months Najmun had to survive on potatoes only, occasionally she also had raw beef, all for the sake of survival. The list of hardship and challenges she faced are too immense but she loves the thrilling adventures.   What makes her unique from other travellers is that during her travel to all these countries she proudly carried the Bangladeshi flag, as a representation of her country.

Najumaccomplished this milestone all by herself without any fear. She was the first Bangladeshi flag bearer in almost all the countries she has visited, and she introduced Bangladesh as a country and its culture to children to over 80 countries. Najmun Nahar made a remarkable historic moment when she walked on top of the world-famous cascade – Victoria Falls – in a bid to enter Zimbabwe from Zambia, all while carrying the Bangladeshi flag with great pride.    

How she managed to finance her trip

With hard work and determination, she saved all her money for the purpose of travelling. She mostly travelled at night to save hotel expenses and to save airfare she mainly travelled thousands and thousands of miles by road. For stayovers, she lived in youth hostels instead of hotels. Najmun mostly booked flights before her travel dates and always on the lookout for bargained ticket prices. Before visitation she does thorough research, maps places to visit, to reduce transportation fees.   Accolades:  

• Miss Earth Queen Award and Youth Conference Globe Award at the Fobana Summit, Nassau Coliseum
• Atish Dipankar Gold Medal Award
• The Janata International Club Award, in the category of outstanding contribution to women empowerment
• Red Crescent Motivational Award.
• Icon of Youth’ award and was honoured by the Zambian government with ‘Flag Girl’ designation.

  Najmun Nahar is an inspiration to youths all over the globe. As a Bangladeshi female, I cannot explain how proud I am of such an inspiring individual. Her family has always supported her dream, and being the youngest of 8 siblings makes her being loved the most, with a great support system. In the next Ekushey book fair, she plans on publishing her book that she has started writing about her journey, travel experiences, notable stories to inspire the coming generation to explore the world.  

Written by: Ramisha Rahman  

Information Collected

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