Tory MPs go to Bangladesh as part of the party's social action project, Project Maja

By Joseph Willits 
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40 Tory volunteers, including MPs Tobias Ellwood, Nicky Morgan, Eric Ollerenshaw, Andrew Stephenson (pictured), Anne Main and MEP Syed Kamall, have all travelled to Bangladesh to welcome in Project Maja in the country.

Project Maja was set up by Party co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi (who also joined the volunteers), in Bosnia in 2009.

The project has now been extended to Bangladesh, working in the capital Dhaka, and the north-eastern city of Sylhet.  The volunteers, and the project more generally, will be focusing on working with several UK charities and businesses in Bangladesh, including Islamic Relief, the London Tigers, BRAC and Save the Children.  Sport, community and health projects were the focus of the visit, and of Project Maja.

Baroness Warsi said of the project:

"When I set up Project Maja, I wanted to bring together teams of Conservatives dedicated to developing skills as well as delivering key infrastructure projects. Bangladesh is a country of great opportunity, and I hope this project will leave a strong human legacy.”

Tobias Ellwood, who led the project in Bangladesh, talked of the "fantastic range of skill, talent and enthusiasm within the Conservative Party", and what better way of putting such expertise to use than "to facilitate development in Bangladesh, working alongside our partners on the ground to help some of the world’s poorest people".

The visit by the Tory delegation, was not without incident however, in light of the  devastating earthquake which has claimed over 100 lives in the Himalayas - in northern India, Nepal and Tibet.  The hotel in which the volunteers was staying, was subject to a 6.8 tremor.  Tobias Ellwood reconfirmed his military credentials, in leading everybody concerned to safety.

You can follow the work and progress of Project Maja on Twitter.