A Day of Contrasts...

Our day began with a boat ride - an ancient, narrow wooden boat, pushed by a man with one oar, like something you'd see in the movies. We went to the largest slum in Dhaka which an island in the middle of a lake, which was created out of a landfill.
We were greeted by the cutest children with smiles on their faces. On our way to the only school on the island we passed small, metal shacks attached to each other. Some of these were homes and others were shops, workshops or food stands where men congregated watched by women and children. Conditions were very difficult to witness.
Children followed us to the school which consisted of one small room. The teacher and her supervisor were there along with twenty students sitting on the floor with their workbooks which were papers stapled together. Once again, the children were singing their national anthem. They listened cautiously as we told them about the Caring Coins. They proudly told us their names - two girls named "Happy". When we asked them the questions from the students in Vermont, they hesitated to answer until prompted by the teacher. Once again the students enthusiastically accepted the Caring Coins and candy and cookies provided by Rubel and Design Bangladesh. Many other children who were not in the school came to the door and also wanted a Caring Coin. It is amazing to us how despite the very difficult conditions these children are living under, they all responded happily to our being there. Our hearts were very heavy as we got back into our little boat to leave the island.

Quite a difference...Our afternoon took on a totally different feeling. Ryal, one of Rubel's staff members is co directing a film which will come out in June. We were invited to his studio - the Hollywood of Bangladesh. As we entered the studio there was a crowd of fans waiting at the entrance, hoping to see Royal's boss, the number one film maker in Bangladesh. We were given the royal treatment, ushered into the studio and brought directly into the film viewing room where we sat in on the dubbing process for Ryal's movie. It is a wonderful musical comedy with fabulous Bangladesh songs and dances. Their music is exhilerating and colorful. We were introduced to Ryals boss, Gnfar Khar Michael; his co director, the musical director, the set designer, the producers and the stars. They were all very gracious. We even got some autographs. Then we went to the set for "Bangladesh Idol" where we met the producer. He was very interested in hearing about the Caring Coins and You Are Never Alone Bangladesh. He promised to be in touch with us about our program and other contacts he has around the world.

We continue to be touched with the incredibly positive response we are getting from children and adults alike to our mission. For example, as we ate our pizza at Pizza Hut tonight, several of the waiters gathered round as I explained what we were doing in Bangladesh. They were all excited and wanted to participate with us. They promised to visit the web site and e-mail me with their ideas.

Tomorrow is another day. We are expecting a seven to nine hour car ride, heading to the top of the country to Rangpur where we will visit three more schools and two orphanages. A football(soccer) game is scheduled with Chris and the Design Bangladesh staff playing a local team. We anticipate that they will "kick some butt."

Time will tell...

Salley, Betsy and Chris