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| The Canadian travelling team, the kids, and the community. From Bangladesh 2008 Photo Album |
For the past three days we travelled in and out of Dhaka on a short-cut that took about and hour out of the trip but it is, as Richard describes it, a "noggin' knocking road."
We drove up to the distribution site at a small school and yard flanked by little huts all roped-off. There were 700 kids inside and two or three times that number of family and community surrounding the area. Spontaneous clapping, along with the Bangladesh national anthem sung by the kids, greeted us as we walked in. We reciprocated with a rather good rendition of "O Canada" (I am biased, but this is a singing team) and got down to work.
For the donors receiving pictures from this site the background is the family and community members with the odd dog and chicken thrown in. There were not many other options today for the photo background but, in fact, it is nice because it gives you a real perspective of what we were in the middle of.
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| Singing "O Canada." From Bangladesh 2008 Photo Album |
Marg did a series of interviews today on the specifics of the bedkit as well as the stories of some of the families. Here is her summary of these stories:
"Of the ten families interviewed today, the number of children ranged between 4 – 9. When asked about the value of the 2 most valuable items, most answered the blanket and mattress, second most valuable item was the school back pack. Without exception the one item they wished added was school supplies. They all were very appreciative for the entire kit contents as there are no finances available to buy any of it."
"The annual income for the families interviewed ranged from 12 000 taka to 20 000 taka (170 – 285 Canadian dollars). The family wage earner was always the male, although one woman sometimes worked in the fields with him. Many were farmers of rice or vegetables, few owning any land."
"Many men were day labourers working at anything available. Idleness is not wanted. All of the women delivered their babies at home with a midwife who was often a relative. One said 'close to her heart.' The monthly pension for 60 years old is 200 takas. All their children were currently in school. They started at ages 4, 5, or 6 years old. When asked how old they would be when they left school ... the answer: 'when he has a moustache.'"
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| From Bangladesh 2008 Photo Album |
I wandered off to a little hut before we left and communicate with a young couple with two little boys. They were thrilled to have their first family photo taken. I wish I could have printed it off and given it to them.
Doug MacDougald & Marg Garrett
for Team Bangladesh
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