I was privileged to come and see what the Lord has been doing and still needs to do in this country. There are many culture shocks that happened but praise Him for all the new experiences and for sustaining me during my 4-day stay. I know it was too short of a mission but it was intensive. We visited a total of four orphanage schools.
Kids from Khulna
A kid from the ferry wanted to be in the picture with me ^^
This kid is so cute
hey I met Bianca G. in Khulna haha
my new Bangla friends here, Jishpa and Shahkhi
Kids from Khulna
Pastor Mark's nephew at Gopalgonj
at the Ferry, crossing the Padma river
Learned to make Japati!
The kids from Gopalgonj gave me this flower upon arrival to their school. Sweet ^_^
Gopalgonj Kids
I was deeply moved by how the people at the lower caste group
of the society live in Bangladesh. In the ferry, while we are crossing the
Padma river, this man takes every man’s slipper or shoes and have them cleaned
for free. He has his own cleaning tools
and was diligently serving all men in the ferry by doing such task. It saddens
my heart. There are questions in my mind and so many of these are “WHYs”. Why does he have to do it? Why such mentality in this country? Why not the other men try to refuse?
Later, a young boy came with the same kind of cleaning tools.
He was also doing the same task. I realized, through the help of Pastor Mark's interpretation,
that the old guy and this young boy are both from the lower caste of the
society and they do it as part of their responsibility to the society.
Pastor Mark asked the boy while cleaning a pair of slippers: “Are you going to school this July?” ,
but the boy said, “no, I am never going to school. I am poor. I’m a slave. I do not have
any reason and opportunity to go to school..”
This is really heart-breaking. There are millions of kids
like him. They need help.
“Thirty-one percent of
the population lives below the national poverty line, most of whom are women
and children. The prevalence of child
(under 5) malnutrition is nearly 40%, one of the highest in the world.” [http://www.thp.org/our-work/where-we-work/bangladesh/]
“The disproportionate poverty faced by women
and girls comes as a result of discrimination and exclusion within Bangladeshi
society, struggling to establish their rights and influence in decision-making
processes.” [
http://www.thp.org/our-work/where-we-work/bangladesh/]
The Delight Foundation, whom we are partnering with, wishes
to extend help to the impoverished kids and disadvantaged women, especially the
ones in the lower caste groups. DF wishes to house more impoverished kids in
their orphanages. Let us pray for more partners that will help DF to
pursue their goals. The harvest is so vast in this country.
If you want to partner with Menschville, Delight Foundation, and KOOSJ to help these kids. Let us know! You can send help in any kind: financial, goods, or services. Just click here to find out how.