A Belated Update from Bhola

Rather belated New Years wishes.  The children and I hope 2018 will be a peaceful and prosperous year for us all.   Yes, I spent New Year’s Eve with the children and we had a great time. The boys decorated their room to welcome me and everyone was in festive mood, with a large bonfire and music from Zakir’s friend Faisal and his group, who travelled down on the launch with us from Dhaka and stayed on for several days.   My New Year’s gift was a new auto-rickshaw, the Philip Westbury sadly having had to be sold.

Dinah with the boys

Fahim and Sibbir

The Dhaka boys, four at the deaf school, four in the training centre, and Hasnur who is now in an excellent school for the blind, came home and all holidays were postponed until after my departure.  So we were a full house of 31 boys and 27 girls.  We celebrated gold and silver medals in the Special Olympics, the boys will be in the finals in Dubai in 2019.   It is always a joy to see the older children playing with the young.   It reassures me that we really are a family, always our dream.  Whatever happens in the future, I pray that this ethos of Bhola Garden will be preserved. 

We are giving a much-needed coat of paint to the hostel building before the monsoon.   There has been discussion about our original  buildings which are in dire need of repair, so much so that lessons now take place in the dining room.  We have an estimate for the total replacement of both flat roofs and, since my return, I am delighted to report we are well on our way to finding sufficient funds for this.   My own parish church, Our Lady of Grace in Chiswick, has made Bhola’s Children part of our annual Lent Project.   I spoke for a couple of minutes at the end of all 6 Masses on the second Sunday of Lent and am thrilled to say that the money is coming in.   Many, many thanks to my generous priests and fellow parishioners.

Picnic on Eunus's Farm

Back to Bhola and my January visit. We did all the usual things. Kind Eunus  allowed us to have our picnic on his beautiful farm and paid for all the food and drink. We also had our traditional excursion to the river bank at Valumia, but this was a bit more of an adventure than usual:  Iqbal was only able to find one boat to take all of us who dared and who were not too heavy… I still can ‘t believe they got me into the very flimsy leaking motorised craft, that we survived the jaunt and somehow they hauled me out.  I had visions of the headline “50 protibondi and old white woman drown in the Bay of Bengal”.

Zakir and Kamal have reluctantly decided to stop growing vegetables in Valumia, since they are constantly washed away by the monsoons.  Instead we have planted hundreds of lemon trees and hope to sell the produce. Thanks to Eunus, we have been able to rent the triangular strip of land in front of the boundary, which will give us more security and  space to grow vegetables.

Physiotherapy is going well and it is wonderful to see the improvement it makes to several of our children.   

Nervous passengers on a very small boat

A  welcome addition to our family is Ismail. He was previously our part time accountant and is  now fulltime, living in the boundary with his wife Samira and Abdullah,  6 months old. Ismail is a great support to Zakir and the office they share, on a corner of the tailoring building, is  a triumph of tidiness and efficiency – the first time I’ve said that of any of our offices!  Ismail speaks good English and is working well with Sandy.

Zakir’s wife Neera and daughters Sara and Nora were with us all the time, and are a great joy.   The girls love being in Bhola, and I only wish there was decent education on the island so they could live with us – although Neera would miss the Dhaka shops! Zakir has friends in Bhola, including the Mayor who invited us to a barbecue in his vegetable-storage factory, very cold! but its lonely life for him much of the time.

The boys in their decorated room

And yes, it was cold! The coldest in 50 years, by late afternoon we were fetching socks and jackets, and it didn’t warm up till nearly 11 in the morning.   Not a place suited to cold weather, although it was pleasant sleeping under two blankets rather than a mosquito net.   And I blessed Jet Airways for their sleep suit which I put on every evening under my salwar kameez! If I go again, it will be late January!

Farewell!

Freda Graf reports on her recent visit to Bhola

August 2017

It was monsoon time when I visited Bhola’s Children which meant high humidity, tremendous downpours and the loudest thunder I have ever heard.  There was not a sound from the children, as they were so used to it, but I thought the world was coming to an end!  The terrible flooding in South East Asia had little impact on Bhola as they are conditioned to it and have effective strategies in place to minimise the problems.  Unfortunately, the rice crop has been wiped out and this will have a dramatic impact on the basic foodstuff, leading to a significant increase in cost.  This in turn will impact on our budget and the money we send out to Bhola’s Children.

The children were all fundamentally well despite the usual colds and fevers that are typical for this time of year.  It was good to see the children having great fun in the pond, jumping, splashing and playing in the water.  All the children are taught to swim which is a necessary skill to have when you live in an area surrounded by water.

I was especially pleased to see Nayan (a boy with multiple disabilities) confidently playing and swimming.  He has had intensive physio for the last year from Dilruba, our qualified physiotherapist. She comes to the Boundary for a few hours each week and she has trained our staff in proper physio.  Dilruba can diagnose the problems and develop treatment plans for each of our children. She then instructs our staff to look after a group of children.   This has made a significant impact on the care the children are receiving and hence the improvement.

The older boys are attending a Training School in Dhaka where they are learning skills to enable them to get employment when they have finished.  I visited the school which is very impressive where they teach a range of skills including farming, mechanical engineering, IT and tailoring.  The boys seem to be very happy and thriving there.  Zakir and I collected the boys and brought them back to Bhola for the holidays.

The carpenter is continuing to teach the boys the basic skills in woodwork and now that the older boys are at school, the younger and the less able children are having a chance to learn.

We had a wonderful farewell party where the children entertained me with singing by a girl with Downs syndrome and a boy with multiple disabilities.  The girls danced in unison and it was fascinating watching how a blind girl could almost manage to dance in union with the others.    The deaf boys wrote and performed a very entertaining play about a thief who was of course captured by the end of the play.

It was the end of term and the children were doing examinations and preparing to go home for the Cow Cutting EID holiday.  By the end of my stay most of the children had gone and an eerie silence had descended on the home.  The staff could have a well-deserved rest and prepare for the next term.

I spent Cow Cutting Eid with Zakir’s family in Dhaka and it was a most interesting experience.  The day before Eid, there were cows everywhere in the streets and on Eid day I watched them being butchered, very cleanly and humanly.  My curiosity about this arises from the days I was an operating theatre sister.  The tradition is the meat is divided three ways, to the poor, to relatives and the family keep the remaining third.  Many poor people come to Dhaka specially to collect the meat and the crowds gathered outside the rich people’s houses.

Zakir, our Director, has been managing the home in a very efficient and thoughtful way.  He has a very good relationship with both the children and staff.  He has the skill to be friendly and yet have the respect of the staff.  The children love him and he is very good at playing and having fun with them.  We do hope he will continue for a long time to come.

Freda's report from Bhola

My annual trip to Bhola’s Children was very successful and worthwhile. It was great to see so many new children and meet up again with familiar faces. The children seem very happy and are working hard at their schoolwork but still have plenty of time for fun and games. The newly installed CCTV not only makes everyone feel more secure, it also has the bonus of enabling Zakir to keep an eye on the classrooms, so the children are now quiet and well behaved.

I was especially pleased to be able to welcome the new qualified physio Dilruba, who has joined our staff. Dilruba is able to provide proper treatment plans and help our existing staff to execute the care correctly. She suggested we purchase an ultrasound machine to treat children with muscle spasm, pain, and help relieve contractures. Thanks to the very generous donation from The Funding Network we are able to agree the purchase and also buy a resistance exercise bike. This will help build up the muscles of the children with deformities.

 

It was a delight to see so many of the children developing technical skills. They were all very enthusiastic and keen both to watch and take part. It was great to see our new drill being used by the physically handicapped boys who are learning skills that will enable them to support themselves in the future. We are very grateful to Cumbria Overseas Aid Trust (COAT) for their very generous gift.

While I was in Dhaka, I visited the only deaf Secondary school in Bangladesh which was very impressive. It is a government supported school and there is a boarding department run by the Bangladesh Deaf Society. All being well some of our older boys will be starting there in January at the start of the new school year. I also visited the Baptist Mission Integrated School where two of our blind children attend. This school used to be specifically for the blind but has had to bring in able bodied children in order to survive.

Bangladesh has introduced a new law which bans fishing for a couple of months during the spawning session. We thought this was going to mean the fish for our children would cost a lot more. Fortunately, the exact opposite has happened, the Coastguards confiscate any fish caught and telephone us and other homes to collect the fish. Somebody’s punishment is our reward! Our fridges are now full of fish and the children are getting a healthy diet.

The Coast-Guard Jonal Commander, Efram Hossain, visited the Boundary and was very impressed at what we were doing and wanted to help us provide milk for the children.  He feels this is a very important for the children’s growth. He and his friends are going to give us three cows which we will keep at Valumia and will be cared for by Kamal and one of our boys. He has provided us with the materials so we can build a cow shed and we can get the milk delivered to the home on a daily basis. So Zakir is off to the market to buy the cows!

I had a very helpful visit to the new Superintendent of Police, although we had no particular issues to discuss it was good to be able to thank him personally for his help and invite him to visit the Boundary. All foreign visitors to Bhola are meet by the police on arrival and escorted to the Boundary. We have to inform the police when we leave the Boundary as the police will provide an escort. The authorities are obviously very nervous since the Artisan tragedy as a lot of foreign staff from NGOs have left Bangladesh.  It is rather fun being escorted by very handsome young men!

I also visited the Assistant District Commissioner who welcomed us very warmly.  He is a delightful man, helped enormously by his ability to speak very good English.  He had spent a year at Northumbria University with his family.  His wife is a Doctor and Zakir extended a very warm invitation for his wife and family to visit the Boundary.

The day starts at the Boundary at 6am and it is very impressive to watch the children doing their early morning exercise. This is very well run by one of the older boys Gias, who manages the children in a fun but disciplined way.

Weddings in Bhola Garden

We think we should call Zakir “Cupid” – since he joined, three of our female staff and our own Faruk have “tied the knot”!


Faruk has been with us all his life. He was born with cerebral palsy and is part paralysed down the right side. He is now in his thirties and longs to be married.  He is the gate keeper  and every morning he can be seen sweeping the boundary and checking the tube wells.

A couple brought their daughter in some four weeks ago. She was about 16 so too old for us to accept. But when Zakir saw that she was paralysed down her left side, he proposed for Faruk and both Sharmin and her parents agreed.


In true Bangladeshi fashion no time was wasted, the marriage took place almost at once  and the parents went home. Two weeks later Faruk accompanied his bride to her parents’ home for the Eid holiday and, for the first time in his life, had people he could address as mother and father.

Salina is a widow, and the mother of our dear Sonali, now 11 and severely disabled with cerebral palsy. Salina also has a son who is in the local boys’ orphanage and visits us on all holidays.

Since we have known Salina, she has had at least two offers of marriage but neither suitor was prepared to take Sonali as well. Naturally Salina, who is a wonderful mother, rejected both proposals.

Mofiz and Salina

We are delighted to tell you Salina has now found a new husband who is more than happy to be a father to both her children. Mofiz was widowed earlier this year. His children are grown up, he has his own house near our campus, and until recently he worked for Heed Technical Training College. Mofiz proposed last month and the marriage took place yesterday.

Sandy and Freda are both about to visit Bhola and will have the good fortune to celebrate two marriages. I am deeply envious!

THE FUNDING NETWORK SELECTS US TO PRESENT AT THEIR LAST EVENT

We were so very pleased to be selected by TFN to present our charity at their event on 15th September.   We were one of four charities – two UK-based and two working overseas – and we each had a target of £6,000.

Our ask was for a part-time physiotherapist and a carpenter, and we are happy to report that we more than achieved our target.  Zakir, who never wastes time,  has  already taken on a part-time carpenter.   Here is a photograph of his first lesson.

To The Funding Network and to all their guests and supporters:

This is a huge thank you from Bhola’s Children for your generosity last Thursday evening.

The  committee members of Bhola’s Children Special School Bangladesh, Zakir, the staff and all our children have asked me to thank you for donating so generously.

I was thrilled to have an opportunity to tell you about our charity, thank you for listening and for your positive feedback.   We all hope you will want to keep in touch and possibly even visit our home.   

Meanwhile thank you again so very much for raising such a wonderful sum of money for us.

Very best wishes,

Dinah Wiener

Received a wheelchairs from CoastGuard

From Zakir, our Director:

Dear All,

I am glad to inform you that we have received five wheelchairs from CoastGuard on 14th June 2016. They handed over the chairs along with support for two other regular schools in a event with many media and other distinguished guests. Myself and Tanvir attended.

We have good relation with them and they have been a good support. They promised more support in the future years.

Best regards

Zakir

Director

Our children sing farewell to Philip Westbury

Dinah has known and loved Philip for ten years.   He was so disabled at birth, he was not expected to live three days.  Instead, he lived nearly 31 years.

His mother Helen was the first donor to set up a substantial standing order.  When we asked for sponsorship for our auto rickshaw, we painted each donor’s name  on it.  Helen made up the shortfall and we thought it appropriate to put Philip’s name in full.   Philip sadly died just before Easter and the children made this video in the hope of comforting Philip’s family before the funeral on April 15th.

It is a year since Zakir took over officially as Director of Bhola’s Children Protibondi School, now renamed Bhola’s Children Special School – Bangladesh (BCSB). Anne and I were delighted with what he has achieved. The atmosphere in the boundary was excellent, everything indoors and out was neat and tidy, and  the staff seemed happy – although stretched to their limits since we now have 53 children – 31 boys and 22 girls. We urgently need another teacher and a full-time labourer to help Dipok and Iqbal.

My great joy was seeing our three deaf boys Ahasan Ullah, Hassain and Sharadat going off to the secondary school having passed their exams. 

Zakir’s improvements to the boundary are good. The Director’s accommodation on the roof of the tailoring building is excellent. The able-bodied boys all sleep in the old tailoring room, those with mobility problems have a room on the ground floor. Asma seems very happy to use the old physio room for tailoring, and physio next to the entrance works very well. We now have a visitors’ door with a bell so the gates don’t need to be opened  and  a small waiting room. Faruk is pleased with his doorman’s office. The girls all sleep on first and second floors of the hostel, with Shefali and Sima as house mothers. We noticed how quiet it was in the early mornings without the boys below!

We had a very friendly and productive Committee meeting early in the week, with all our BCSB trustees present. They are a really helpful, intelligent and influential group of men – but we hope to have a woman on board soon. We agreed a new Memorandum of Understanding which Shawkat and I signed later in the week. They have asked to use our logo, which of course pleases us and new letter heading has been designed.

We have a new DC (District Commissioner) with whom we had a useful meeting. Unlike the previous very unpopular man (Freda and I had experience there!) he saw us promptly, was extremely charming and positive about our work, and visited us on Saturday morning. He has only just arrived in Bhola and told me it was his first official visit. As well as a tour of the boundary and a dance show by Sima and the girls, he and I laid the foundation bricks for the wall around the land I bought only about 8 years ago, and for which  the dispute has been settled at last!  It has been named Goyal Ghar which means cowshed, although I see it more as a pasture. The wall is being built now and we hope to have cows in residence next year!  

The vegetables in Valumia are spectacular. I have never known the land looking so tidy (that goes for the gardens in the boundary too) and so productive. Kamal is doing a great job and has become a valued member of the family.

Zakir and I work well together, which meant we got all the business out of the way early in the week so we could all enjoy ourselves later. We had the usual sports day and I won my first ever prize – third in musical chairs against the female staff, Anne and Zakir’s wife Neera!! The picnic was not the usual ordeal: due to a wonderful thunderstorm one night and heavy rains, which cleared the air, most of the river banks were muddy, and the women said taking food to cook outside was no picnic for them! Instead we all had an excellent lunch together at home, dressed in our best. We then piled into microbus and tractor trailer – Ronazid kindly drove the latter, it being a Friday – and went to a river bank where the boys swam. Zakir found a little motorised sailing boat which we ladies boarded for a trip up the river. Games afterwards, and everyone thought the day was a great success.

Surma weds!

When Surma was ten, she refused the advances of an older boy and he threw acid in her face. She survived although for some years she didn’t want to go on living, until she fell in love with a distant cousin Bacchu. They had a little boy, whom we call Babu, who is nearly ten. Bacchu came to live in Bhola Garden, where he was a hard worker responsible for agriculture and market.

Unfortunately Bacchu was led astray by one of our older students, whom he has married. We miss Bacchu as a worker, but he now employed in a similar institution some way away.

We were delighted to learn that Surma has found a new husband. It was a second marriage for both, so the wedding was a low-key affair but Surma looks very happy and her new husband seems nice. We wish them much happiness.

Bhola’s Family - by Freda Graf

It was great to return to our home for disabled and orphaned children on Bhola Island and to find there was a great feeling of a family again.  Everyone is much happier and working well together.

Our new Director has created an effective team and the staff responds to him extremely well.  Zakir’s family fit in very naturally and Neera (Zakir’s wife) has a good relationship with the staff.  It is a happy place to be and like all families they have their arguments but Zakir is kind but firm in keeping discipline.

Our new Housemother, Shefali appears to be a very positive member of staff, firm and slightly aloof which is what is needed to cope with the tittle-tattle that inevitably goes on. Shefali is responsible for the kitchen, cooking and buying produce although all the staff and some of the children help with the preparation of the meals. She manages the kitchen quietly and efficiently. She is responsible for the smaller children but needs help with the older girls who can be very naughty.

A number of new children of different ages, with a variety of disablements have joined us. They have settled very well into the home and have become part of the family. It is not difficult to find new children because there are many disabled children on Bhola. This is sadly due to the poor level of maternity services and the prevalence of first cousin marriages.

I attended a very positive meeting with the Bangladeshi Trustees, where many issues relating to the home were discussed. It was good to welcome two new Trustees, an ex headmaster of the local school and a Principal of the local college who has recently retired. Both the new Trustees are very interested in the home and are well respected members of the community. Zakir hosted a barbecue for the Trustees and staff to meet together. He is an excellent chef and it was a very enjoyable and positive evening.

My visit coincided with the celebration of Cow Cutting Eid, which was a fascinating experience for me. I had images of blood everywhere and it being a rather unpleasant situation, however I have never seen such a clean and gentle killing of an animal. It was done in such a humane way and I found the subsequent butchering fascinating but then I am a nurse and it was so much cleaner that working in the operating theatre!

The Boundary (the home and garden) is looking smart and has been cleaned up since our last visit. The main buildings have been washed; in fact I thought they had been painted. The vegetable gardens have been organised and have been divided into rows. Groups of boys have responsibility for weeding and caring for the crops. New concrete pathways have been made around the side of the campus and some vegetation has been removed to protect the boundary wall. The boys and staff under the direction of Zakir have done all the work.

It was my first experience of visiting during the monsoon, although it should have ended before I arrived. Yes, it is wet and when it rains – it is a downpour. I will never grumble again about our heavy showers! The humidity is very exhausting especially when it stops raining and the sun comes out!  I shouldn’t complain as I was only there for a short time. Consequently, much of the land at Valumia was under water but it won’t be long before the new planting will start.

It was wonderful to see how the home was moving forward under the excellent leadership of Zakir. It was the best visit I have had and it was very positive to hear Zakir’s plans for the future especially with the ideas for the rehabilitation of the older children.

New website and Director for Bholas Children as Ali Retires

Welcome back to our new website which we have updated to reflect the changes in Bhola.

Ali turned 62 in March and decided it was time to let a younger man take Bhola’s Children forward. We were lucky enough to persuade Zakirul Haque, whom we have known for many years, to join us as our new director.

Here he is with his wife and two daughters. As soon as we have created appropriate accommodation, they will join us in Bhola.

Meanwhile we now have a strong local committee, with whom we work closely. The Managing Trustee was a Lt. Colonel in the Bangladesh army who, on retirement, set up a successful life assurance company.

He speaks perfect English, as does Zakirul, so telephone conversations are now easier. He is known to his friends as Manik. He and his wife, and another trustee, have all been in London for a few days which gave us an opportunity for a very productive Trustees Meeting.

 

On Sunday we had Open House here in Cornwall Grove, so that as many donors as possible could meet Manik. Luckily it stopped raining just in time for us to lunch in the garden.

Freda runs for Bhola's Children

Yesterday our wonderful trustee Freda, who has not done any serious running before, completed the 10 k run in Regent’s Park in aid of Bhola’s Children. To date she has raised over £800 for our charity. Back in Bhola, our children ran at the same time. They sent their good wishes. Here is Freda’s account of her marathon: As you may be aware, the date of my momentous running event coincided with the arrival of a certain Hurricane Bertha. It was thus with some trepidation that we arrived at Regents Park this morning. Running with umbrellas (or 'borrowing' bin bags from the friendly street cleaner we passed en route) was contemplated, but it was soon all too apparent that we would not have been wetter had we decided to swim to the start and thus all further attempts to stay dry were futile. However team morale was as high as the water level, and with a determination and stride pattern that Mo Farah would have been proud of, we set off only a mere 20 minutes after most of the field (as you know punctuality is not our strongest event). In fact Amy started so late that the 'start' line had been turned into the 'finish' and thus when she tried to cross the line she was accosted by a somewhat irritable race organiser. It only dawned on us later that had she been allowed to she would had inadvertently 'won' the race! With true courage in the face of adversity (some would say akin to that of the Jamaican sprint relay team in Glasgow) we battled on against fierce winds and thrashing rain overcoming everything that Hurricane Bertha could throw at us. A strong 'sprint' finish resulted in a 'Team Graf' personal best time of 1 hour 24 minutes. As you might suspect we are expecting to hear from the Olympic GB selection team in the next few days regarding our availability for Rio. Joking apart there was no way on earth you would have got me running around a flooded Regents Park for an hour and a half without knowing I had all your support behind me. Your generosity has humbled me and will make the pain I endure getting out of bed tomorrow (when my entire body has stiffened up in protest to today's exertions) seem completely worthwhile. The children in the home at Bhola went running at the same time as my run in support of our effort. I am sure their run was equally as wet with the added discomfort of the heat. Many thanks again for your support Freda “just call me Mo” Graf PS I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my Team – a big thank you to Bethan and Amy

Allan's report on his first visit

I found my first visit to Bangladesh and to Bhola an extremely exciting and happy adventure. Ali greeted and welcomed me on arrival at the airport and in the first few hours I experienced travel by rickshaw, auto rickshaw taxi and by evening overnight ferry – fantastic! The care and attention given to us by Ali continued when we arrived at Bhola’s children. Thanks also to experienced travelers Anne and Simon who helped guide me through the many wonderful experiences in Bangladesh. Highlights of my trip included being with the children at Bhola, their warmth and friendly nature only exceeded by their energy, fitness and agility. I loved the morning run and brisk walks with the children. Several exercises as warm up routines seemed to go down well with the boys and lost little in translation. Together we played cricket, catch and a game of ‘footie’ - all in temperatures of 30+ degrees! Trips out with the children were a great experience. The willingness of the children to help and support each other was impressive. Peer guidance and order seemed to come naturally to the group, demonstrated by everyone helping to load breakfast onto vehicles that would transport us to Valumia. Here, in what we might call a garden or allotment site, we were served an al fresco breakfast in a lovely, tranquil environment. One of my most vivid memories is of the Bhola boys and girls climbing trees and positioning themselves on high branches for their picture to be taken. Their fantastic fitness and agility gave me some wonderful, colorful pictures. Allan Gall April 2014.

Anne's report on her recent visit

Back in Bhola 8th – 15th April 2014. We arrived in Bhola early on the morning of the 9th April. At this stage, it’s a homecoming for me as I’ve been to Bangladesh a dozen times; Simon at 3-and-a half is on his second visit, and for Allan, a fundraiser and supporter, also from Scotland, it was his first time anywhere in SE Asia – it was a great introduction. After the thrill of a ride in our new auto-rickshaw, the children, armed with Bangla flags and bright flowers, were on hand to greet us – a wonderful, warm welcome for all three of us, but clearly Simon was the one they were waiting for… He had a fantastic time playing with the ‘big boys’ and was using sign language in no time; it took him longer to accept the girls as they were, apparently, a bit ‘kissy’! Allan, a marathon-runner, was accompanied on his early morning runs by up to 10 boys in flip-flops, on other days Ali led them in a brisk walk. It was a pleasure to see so many new faces amongst the familiar ones. A couple of the younger girls had only just arrived and were busily settling in, whereas old friends had – just as they do in all families – grown up and moved on. Not moved too far though: we spoke to Tasnur and Dilruba, and met Maksud in the street. Everyone appeared to be healthy and in good spirits. The older children are going daily to the local primary school. It’s not easy for anyone, as they don’t have an interpreter, but they are persevering, and signing and lip-reading classes continue in the boundary. There was much singing and dancing too – there always is – and cricket was the name of the game most evenings. Official awareness programmes and day-long picnics were shelved for this visit, given the average temperatures of 35 degrees, but we managed trips to Valumia (the new access road is shaping up and the pond is being dug out - very slow and hot work), Supari Bagan, the river, the second bridge – for the sunset – and Bhola town. One highlight was the ‘water melon’ trip: Ali, the three of us, 32 staff and children, and twenty gigantic watermelons on an outing in the tractor/trailer combo. With the crowds that followed, there was certainly plenty of unofficial awareness-raising! Our last day coincided with the Bangladeshi New Year and Nahian’s ninth birthday, so an evening party, with Ali’s signature dish of ‘sweet rice’ – and when the Bangladeshi’s call something sweet, they really mean it – and a lot of fun and games. There were the usual types of challenges! The new air conditioner on the third floor caused the electrics to fuse and added to the thrice daily power-cuts… Eventually the very tenacious electrician triumphed (at 11pm) and the system, used sparingly, is a nice addition. The microbus kept breaking down due to the lack of clean fuel but again was eventually fixed and fixed again. But on the upside, the brand new gas supply, promised to Bhola Island for years, finally arrived. This long-awaited main-line gas means there is a viable alternative to the outdoor wood-fire method of cooking, which is welcome during the hottest days and the wettest monsoon. On the plane on the way home, Simon asked me, wistfully, if he could, please, have four big brothers, ‘just like my new friends in Bhola.’ Clearly, Ali and Bhola’s Children worked their usual magic on all of us and I remembered over again why this is such a very special place and part of my very extended family. I would say it was one of the best of visits ever… except that I say that every time! Anne Hamilton 08/05/14

Photographs taken by Dinah in February