This is my Life…

The last day at work (19th Dec) before the Eid and Christmas holidays I worked in the office and in the afternoon, around 3:30 pm, I, Kanta and Nioty went to Kamlapur Railway Station and distributed t-shirts to 30 street children in the School Under the Sky who are regularly attending the class. It was a successful distribution.

The following day Kanta came to my apartment around lunchtime and gave me Eid cards and gifts as well, she had written some really nice words and brought very nice gifts for me. In the evening I walked downstairs to the garage in our building to have a look at all the cows and goats the people had bought for the Eid festivities.

The Eid Day was on the 21st of Dec, and it marked the beginning of Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest Muslim holidays in the year. In the morning I went with Ashu to witness qurbani (a ritual sacrifice of a livestock animal) in his uncle’s house, but we watched other people sacrificing cows as well. Last year I celebrated Eid-ul-Azha with my friends in Ghana, but it still felt different being apart of it here in Bangladesh. I got a bigger experience this year. After the qurbani I then went back to Karim Tower and was picked up by Repon (Kanta’s friend) and taken to Kanta’s house. I spent 7-8 hours in Kanta’s house celebrating the Eid Day; eating all different kinds of food dishes and socializing with her family members. Kanta’s niece Zerka, 12 years old, wanted to give me an Eid gift and decorate my hands with mehndi. Mehndi is a temporary form of skin decoration. It took her around two hours to finish it. Then in the evening around 7:30 pm I went to Nilufar’s family members in Dhanmondi and celebrated Eid Day there for several hours. I came home after midnight. Eid Day was a really great day for me.

The following two days during the Eid I spent most of my time with Ashu and his family and I  also relaxed and rested, I just enjoyed being off from work.

On Christmas Eve I received a very warm and special Christmas celebration in Ashu’s home. His mother had baked me a beautiful cake, I also received a very nice Christmas card together with gorgeous orchids and roses. It was a very special moment for me. The way I’m being welcomed in to people’s lives, it’s not only that I receive lifetime friendships, but it’s also gives me feelings that I can’t describe.

Today I have been working as Shishu Tori has had visitors. We went to all the three Schools Under the Sky and the street children received food after their classes. They were very happy when they had received it.

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year, a 2008 which will make you feel the way you want to feel…

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On December 4th the Shishu Tori office had visitors from the streets, we had eight street children in our office that had come to paint and make handicrafts, which we displayed and sold in a stall at an exhibition in the International School of Dhaka (ISD) on Friday the 7th of Dec. The street children were enjoying their time in the office and I was creating jokes and played with them. It was a real nice day.

A few days later, on the 7th of December at 7:30 in the morning I, Kanta and Nilufar had breakfast in Nilufar’s house and approximately one hour later we left for the exhibition in ISD (International School of Dhaka). This day Shishu Tori displayed its work and also sold items made by the street children; cards, dolls, paintings etc. We also displayed all my 23 pieces of framed photos that I have donated. Several interested people came up to us and discussed our work and we also sold several items. When the clock was after 5 pm (one hour after closing time), then we packed all our things and left the exhibition. Even national TV came and shot our stall, which they broadcasted the following day. It was a successful day, but I was very tired that day as I didn’t sleep one minute the night before.

Last week I worked in the Shishu Tori office with a budget and other assignments. We also held a monthly staff meeting last Tuesday.

I received some mail last week and this week as well from both family and relatives, I really enjoy receiving mail, it feels more special holding something in your hand while reading somebody’s handwriting.

On Thursday the 13th of Dec, Saint Lucy’s Day, I was invited to a Lucia reception by the Swedish ambassador. I brought Nilufar with me and we went to the reception for a little more than two hours. They had decorated the garden with lights real nicely and it gave the whole place a real cozy atmosphere. We were given both typical Swedish Christmas food and Bangladeshi snacks. There was also a Lucia procession with the children singing Christmas carols. Afterwards we mingled and met with several interesting people from both organizations and companies. I really enjoyed my time that evening.

The following day I was invited to a lunch in a house belonging to Kanta’s relatives in an area called Mohammadpur. We got there and I started talking to some of her relatives immediately, it was a house with a very warm spirit. We had a big and great lunch, laughed and talked for hours. We stayed there for six hours, then Kanta and I continued to a Milad (anniversary of death) at Nilufar’s house.

This past Saturday I did a surprise visit in Kawran Bazar to check how the class at School Under the Sky was going. I also met with Debashish there, we then walked to Bashundara City and I did some shopping. It’s a very big shopping mall, the largest one in South Asia. The mall has 8 floors and space for 2500 retail stores. We left after a couple of hours of shopping, just before 7 pm, and I went home to my place. Later in the evening and at midnight I went up on the terrace to put up Bangladeshi flags with children from the building, as it was Victory Day on the 16th of Dec.

That same day, the 16th of Dec was Amirsohel’s (Ashu) birthday. We (I and Alexzandra) gave him five computer games, as he loves to play games. My mother had sent him some nice books. I had a great time with his family, friends and relatives. We were served wonderful food the whole day. I spent seven hours in Ashu’s home. When I got home that evening I was really tired after being to several invitations for the past four days.

A small notice; during the month of December this Diary has had approximately 110-115 unique visitors every day.

Where there is a will there is a way…and the way is leading us to…

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Last week, on Wednesday afternoon we (I, Forhad, Kanta, Milon and Nioty) were working in Ramna Park interviewing street girls. Before we started interviewing there was quite a crowd (maybe around 35-45 people) standing around us, just staring, not doing anything, I’m used to it by now but I got very annoyed and said loudly; “this park is very big, you don’t have to stand right here”. I know I’m an attraction, because “bideshis” (foreigners) are quite rare in Dhaka, but still once in awhile I get annoyed with the just-standing-and-staring-part. We interviewed six street girls that day; Rashida, Shanta, Sultana, Kobita, Shati and Asma. Some of them are really serious cases, Sultana was talking about how she has been sexually abused several times; when she was 8, 9, 11 and 13 years old. Probably the saddest story was from Shati who answered our question “what is your biggest problem?”, then she told us ; “In my first marriage I had a baby, when the baby was one month old, then my mother-in-law and brother-in-law killed it. In my second marriage I had a new baby, but I was not able to take care of my baby and sold it for money for someone to take care of it, but at the moment I don’t know how the baby is doing and where it is”. Her stories were really sad to hear.

When I got home that day, Amirsohel and their servant came with some evening food for me; sandwiches, malta (similar to orange) and bananas. Their whole family is always caring about me. I like them a lot.

Last week I also received an invitation from the Swedish Embassy to its Lucia reception, which is going to be held on the 13th of Dec. I don’t know yet if I can attend, but it was nice to receive an invitation.

On Thursday, last week, I donated some money to Shishu Tori, so that we could buy sweaters for 200 street children. The rest of the money I donated will be used for other projects, e.g. the “Schools Under the Sky”. One sweater is approximately 0.5 USD, which is very small money, but which will help the street children a little now when it’s winter time (it’s getting cooler and cooler in the night time) and also they have suffered during the time of the cyclone, like many others in Bangladesh.

The same day in the evening I had several children and people knocking on my door, wanting to meet with “the foreigner”. One small boy (4-5 years old) first came and had a peep at me, then he went out and he came back and an older girl told me; he doesn’t know your name, but he wanted to meet “how are you?” (he thinks I’m “how are you?” hehe, too cute). One of the girls said to me; “I thought that tall people from England are rude” then I replied “I’m from Sweden and I’m nice…” she replied me; “Nooo, you are very nice…”

On Saturday (last week) I went to Sadarghat with Kanta to meet up with Milon and Nioty as we were going to buy 200 sweaters for the street children, which I had donated money for. After we had selected and bought the sweaters, we then all four of us went to the Shishu Tori office in Motijheel to work there the whole day. I and Forhad worked with a project proposal, while the others were sorting the sweaters. That day I left the office after 6 pm.

The following day (Sunday) I worked a couple of hours in the office with a brochure about the street girls rehabilitation center project. I, together with Forhad, practically worked with it the whole time I was in the office. In the afternoon I, Kanta, Milon and Nilufar went to distribute 45 sweaters in Kamlapur Railway Station and 30 sweaters in Osmani Uddan Park.  It was nice to give the street children the sweaters, they were very grateful when they received them. The next day (26 Nov) we were in the office until around 4 pm and went to Kawran Bazar where we distributed sweaters to 35 street children, it was a very good and successful distribution.

We have finished with the brochure about Shishu Tori’s planned project; Street Girls Rehabilitation Center at Kamlapur Railway Station. Please download the brochure and spread it to everyone you know. Download here

The following days in the office I worked mostly in the office with different assignments. The past week I worked six days and after my working week was finished, then I was very tired and somewhat exhausted, so during my two days off (Friday and yesterday) I mainly relaxed and rested in my apartment, as it was very well needed.

Today it’s been back to work. I have been working in the office the whole day, mainly working on the computer.

Now I have been living and working in Bangladesh for 2 months, when I look back at the two months I realize I have experienced a lot and gained a lot of new knowledge. It’s less than a month left of 2007, a year which has been filled with indescribably great experiences from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Denmark, Sweden, Greece and Bangladesh. I don’t know where I will be in one year’s time from now, but I know thing; the world is endless with new experiences…

Save the cocoa, one day I will come and drink it…

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