The saddest boy ever

    I didn’t expect to be woken by the sounds of rickshaw bells, goats and birds. But our first morning in Dhaka started exactly like that. We couldn’t wait to see the city and to get a first impression we went for a walk, before breakfast.
    Our first impressions of the city were: colorful, loud, a bit chaotic and full of people.

    After breakfast we met Jewel, Abu, Shewly and two journalists, in order to discuss the plan for the day. We already knew that the day would be too short, as we wanted to do so many things.

    Meeting with Ramim

    Ramim is a yung guy, 18 years old. He will finish his school this year and he is already looking for a job. We met today to discuss his strategy for the interviews with a potential employer.

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    Meeting Ramim

    Visiting the children that we support and their families

    We visited Zakia Sultanda and Chadny, two girls that we are supporting. We also met their beautiful families. We are so happy that these girls have hope and possibility for better life due to the work of the Maria Cristina Foundation.

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    Meeting other children in the Slums

    If you come to the slums of Dhaka you won’t have any chance of walking alone. The children there will see you immediately, they will call “Bidashi, Bidashi” which means “Foreigner, Foreigner” and within seconds they will be on your side.
    They will follow you as long as you stay there. They will talk to you, they will like to hold your hand, they want to take pictures and they want to sing for you.
    These moments are unforgettable.
    They tell you, that you should do what ever you can, to make these children happier. They will go into your heart and they will change it.

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    Water supply

    The next step was to visit the water supply. I have to admit that we were prepared and we knew what was expecting us. Never then less we were very surprised. What ever you saw or read can’t be compared with reality as you see it.
    The scene of the mother washing here son at the public water pump and two girls, which were taking a shower by pouring the water over themselves, out of a bucket. At the same time the public water pump is surrounded by tons of garbage. This scene will be staying deep in your head!

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    The saddest boy in the world

    On our way out of the slum I saw one small boy in the shop selling samosas. I could pass by, but his eyes were telling me that his story is very sad.
    I was right. This boy is the saddest boy that I have ever seen. After we talked to him, I asked him to pose for a photo. He did that with a very serious face. So I asked him to smile. He didn’t smile. We tried to bring a smile on his lips in different ways, but without success. I think this boy didn’t even know how to smile.

    Buying the toiletries

    As we wanted to buy toiletries for 180 children we visited several shops. Finally we found one, which was able to deliver, even on the same day. After long negotiations we agreed on the products and prices and we even paid 500 USD upfront.

    Great, he promised us to deliver within 3 hour. We informed all 180 children to come to pickup sweets and toiletries within a few hours.

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    Later, shortly before we had to distribute the presents, we had to learn that doing business in Bangladesh is sometimes little bit different. The shop owner called us and told us that he wanted to step back from the contract, as he was not able to deliver. We got our money back, but 180 children were waiting to get presents!

    Jewel and Shewly are now doing their best to insure that we can get the products from other shops, maybe tomorrow. But tomorrow is Eid, nobody is working and it is the biggest fest in the country.

    In the moment we are not that optimistic, that we will get the toiletries by tomorrow.