Here is Shimoly in her nursing outfit carrying the brief case of useful nursing equipment donated by a retired nursing friend of ours. Thanks Pam!
We had a nice meal at Shimoly’s new house today. Even though we have had several days of rain, this house has no flooding. Great!
Here’s Sumon, husband of Selina our Jiboner Asha manager and father to Powshi and Mahamuda. He is now officially our landlord since we have moved the school to the lower floor of his house.
Here’s Liza today at the Literacy Centre, very recently sponsored for school and such a pleasant girl.
Rosey visited Beauty and Nasrul today and their kids Badon and Rattri. They are lovely and so welcoming! Beauty works part-time for us. The family has been through a difficult time with debts to clear after a failed attempt to send the husband abroad to work. We hear of so many families crippled by unscrupulous job brokers and loan sharks in an attempt to earn a better salary. Anyway Nasrul has learned his lesson and at last he has found a job closer to home. Also both children are now sponsored. Things are beginning to turn around and we are pleased for them.
Out and about today. It’s been raining a lot over the last 24 hours and that makes for much cooler conditions. Also a bit wet at times on a rickshaw! (Rather obviously, but when you have no car it’s sometimes “onek costo”- bit of an effort!)
Mina, one of our sponsored students has a prosthetic leg. When she was 5 years old she was playing down by the railway line and fell in the path of a passing train. Imagination does the rest. Yesterday we were chatting with her and she was explaining that the new leg she was fitted with last year is proving to be a problem – too hard and rough for her stump and too fat and clumsy for her trousers. It is a very primitive affair, simply a replica plastic lower leg with no articulation. We promised her that we would try to find out if something a little more advanced can be found in Bangladesh.
A visit to Shahana’s home. Lots of friendly neighbours out. But we would like to move Shahana to a little better accommodation soon, where she can perhaps set up another coaching centre for teenage girls. She has a heart for helping others and there is plenty of need for it. A little cash and lots of love is all it takes to change lives here.
The younger class busily at work in our school. Rosey’s theme this week is Noah Dadu (Grandfather Noah).
The wash place.
Soki is 14 and is one of 4 sisters we support. Maksuda, our class teacher is her auntie. She is turning out to be a lovely dancer. We didn’t know the talent she had until she performed at our concert. It is always incredible how these girls can turn themselves out so beautifully when you see the poor little houses they live in.