This going on now.

Warning:
This is a not-so-easy-to-read post.
But you should read it.

Of course, the longer I stay here in Bangladesh, the more my heart grows for its people, even for the crazy, overcrowded city in which I have been living. Despite its hardships, I am consistently but unexpectedly reminded of hope and beauty amidst poverty and injustice - and for that I am thankful.

Still, it often remains difficult to look beyond the issues that need addressing...

The sexual exploitation of young women and girls in Bangladesh is one of the issues that needs immediate attention.

I recently visited an organization called Children's Uplift Programme (CUP), an NGO that reaches out to pregnant women and young mothers on the streets of Dhaka and gives them a safe place to rest with their children away from the dangers of the streets and the threat of sexual exploitation. Often begging for money and sex are the only options of survival for these uneducated and illiterate girls. Having come from their villages in hopes of a better life, they find a new, and even more tragic nightmare when they arrive in Dhaka. Or even more common, women lassoed into the sex trade have been legally sold into bondage by their own families, many of whom are also in desperate situations. (Prostitution is legal in this conservative country.) I know it is a hard topic to swallow, but I encourage you to give the article below a read, as it is a compelling eye opener to some of the issues specific to the sex trade in Bangladesh. And the video makes it tragically real.

You know how they give cows hormones to plump them up before slaughter?
These girls take those pills..

READ this article.
WATCH this video clip.

Holding onto impossible dreams of a husband that will stay and children that are legitimate, I have wondered what these young women would sing if they had the chance to have a voice... (In this boiling city) there is a song called "Icicles" that keeps popping into my head when trying to put some lyrics to the repeating story of these women and the love they desperately hope to discover in this lifetime.

Icicles
By Patty Griffin

Tonight
I sing soft and low
Just like the moon
Over the snow
I hear icicles falling in the dark

We're just like anyone else
We just want a little bit
Of sun for ourselves
And a little bit of rain
To make it all grow
Maybe a minute or two
To get lost in the glow of love

There's always someone throwing matches around
Waving the shiny new knife
The first to run when the house burns down
I've seen it everyday of my life
I must confess there appears to be
Way more darkness than light
I want to fall like a pearl
To the bottom of the sea
There no one will find us tonight

Tonight
It might look pretty bad
We might lose everything
We thought that we had
But shadows will pass
Smoke, it will clear
If something survives of us around here
I'll be glad 'cause I know
I was lost in the glow
Of love

I pray that one day each woman, child, and man ensnared in the twisted economy of sex might be able to sing that last verse as one dedicated to that of an Eternal Hope. Because when redemption seems too far, Christ is near. The fog of sin that hovers over this earth is at times so disorienting it is hard to know how to find a way out. But, thankfully, there is a God that promises a 'glow of love,' and it will indeed allow each of us to navigate through this thick cloud.
I pray these girls know this.
I will pray until the fog clears.

The Colors of Sylhet.

Last week I had the opportunity to venture up to Sylhet, a northeast region of the country that is surrounded on all sides by India, and its influence. Known for its tea gardens and jungles, the excursion was a much needed breath of air and break from the noise of life in the big city. In addition, the area is filled with a multitude of varying ethnolinguistic groups, and abound with interesting stories and faces to match. My job on this trip was a dream one: photographer. As Anna, a friend of mine, is working on a culture documentation project, I found myself fortunate enough to tag along and peek into the lives of some of the people that are maintaining an extremely difficult but beautiful existence in their villages. I decided to post a spectrum, if you will, of photos of what my eyes feasted on but my lens failed to fully capture during our stay.

Red. A Khasi woman prepares a chili curry paste on her grinding stone.

Orange. A Tripura woman is working on this traditional fabric piece to sell at the village handicraft store. One of the solutions to garner more income for villages has become the production of their garments for tourists.

Yellow. I think this is a plumeria flower. They are in glorious bloom in Sylhet.

Green: The view from a Tripura family's dining room window.

Blue. Found this lovely door on the way from A. to B. Gotta love the year-round Christmas spirit.

Indigo. This sweet boy poses beside a bowl of betel leaf, a major income source for almost all Khasi villages in the area. Betel leaf, or paan, is the main ingredient in a well known recipe throughout Bangladesh that most commonly consists of the leaf, lime paste, and a small amount of betel nut. When combined, the concoction serves as a mouth freshener and addictive, mild narcotic that and tinges the mouth and lips a distinctive red color.

Violet. These people really know how to paint their homes.

For good measure, I also added the more standard colors that follow the rainbow...

Black: This is a giant wood spider, one of the many intimidating creatures that are native to the tropical forests of the region.

Gray: This big guy, not native to Sylhet, has likely made his way from India. FYI, he will take no less than 10 taka if you ask him to do tricks, or, as in our case, if you want him to move aside so you can catch your bus.

Brown. The featured tourist attraction of Srimangal, the main city of the region: Seven layer tea. The layering technique being a very well kept secret, it was definitely worth the 70 taka spent to think through the science of it and marvel at this drink.

White: This lovely Bishnupriya woman poses against her living room wall.

Teal. Just had to throw this one in here. To be sure though, the photo does not do the true color of this house justice.

If I go missing, it might be worth your time to search for me the among the monkeys, exotic vegetation, and humble people that inhabit the quiet villages of Sylhet. I'll most likely be drinking tea or chasing butterflies (seriously).

Please pray along with me that the people in this small, overlooked nook of the world are blessed in a way that points them towards the hope of Christ and a future of wholeness in eternity.

Eid Mubarak!

Last week closed out the month-long fasting of Ramadan with the final day, Eid, as a day of celebration, visiting loved ones and of course, eating rice. This Eid I got to meet some family of my friends and thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed and carefree holiday.

Sweet Mehnaz shows off her new Eid dress and her mehndi.

Ripan, Ruth and I catching a CNG from one friend's place to another's.
Luckily, Dhaka was not its usual self because so many people were with their families in their villages outside of the city. The roads were quite clear - almost unsettling, but amazing.

Enjoying time and a tasty lunch at Smita and Anik's home.
Actually, everyone in this photo except Fiona (in the pink sari) is standing on tippy-toes so as to even out the height disparities between her and everyone else. It's been quite a change for me being average height here, unlike in the States. Many Bangladeshis are confused about where I come from since I am fair skinned but not a "giant."

Eid Mubarak!

Domestic Update.

Well, I have been settling in here, making myself a home and (somewhat of) a routine, and it has been busy! I have continued to work on my Bangla, a slow and frustrating process - but I find I am understanding a bit of what people say now, so that is encouraging. Below are a few photos and explanations of some things that are beginning to make this city "home" for me.

The Azoti Family

I have so enjoyed my time with my fellow neighbors from Togo, Antonin, Grace and Jerome. They have become my Bangladeshi family here, and we have enjoyed the experience of trying to adapt to Dhaka life together. Beyond being neighbors and Fellows together, we have shared some time laughing and praying together, and also some interesting conversations concerning culture, given I am bringing a Western perspective, they are bringing an African one, and we are living in an Asian country. I have truly treasured my time with them.

Here we have Jerome on a weekend morning. :) Spending time with him and his sweet and smart spirit has been so good for me. I love him.

Speaking of new family members, I have another two new additions in my Bangladeshi family. That's right Mom, I have TWO kittens! ;) They did not have any home, and I needed some roommates in my over-sized flat so the combination was perfect. One is named Ellow (background) and the other Mellow (foreground). "Ellowmellow" in Bangla means "messy," which is exactly what they are...but they are also so sweet. I am even working on toilet training them - updates to come on that front. Please notify me if you know anyone in Dhaka that wants a super sweet kitty, as I will have to give them up come December.

In the kitchen, I have been learning several new recipes and really working out my tongue in the spice department. It's either go spice or go home in this country, and I have to say, I am really gaining a stronger tolerance for spicy food. I have also been representing the USA by spreading some American recipes to my Bangladeshi friends, starting with brownies (of course). There is not much baking done here so I was quite fortunate to get a hold of a little tin treasure (shown in photo) that sits on top of the stovetop and works as an oven box. So far, there has been minimal failed experiments, and on the whole, the box works great. The most challenging part is finding substitutes for different things. I just found brown sugar at a store and that was a big deal. Chocolate chips are also not used/sold here at all because they would melt, I think (blatant note to those who would like to send care packages.. ;) ). Above is my friend and Bangla teacher, Smita, who is standing beside the first batch of brownies she has ever made.

I just love my rooftop view.

So there's a small taste of some of my everydays here in Dhaka. I pray I continue to adapt well to this very different culture and that each day it may become a little more home to me.

Mahale People.

Participatory Rural Appraisal.
I had the opportunity to tag along with a team doing some of the preliminary assessments of some remote Mahale villages in the western region of Bangladesh about a week and a half ago. This was my first experience of meeting the people of these small communities face to face. It was incredibly refreshing to see their lives and hear their stories. I was blessed beyond measure to experience the richness of their welcome amidst their lack of earthly things.


The beautiful mud houses they build.

Jenny takes some notes of her observations while waiting out the rain.

Mud oven and fuel beside it.

Basket weaving, a Mahale trademark.

Baby. :)

Beautiful creations.

Village in Matindor.

Village in Jeol.

USA Independence Day Celebration.

We had a lovely 4th of July celebration over here in Asia.
I hosted the party on the roof of my building, just in time for sunset. We thought maybe someone would start a fireworks show in light of the beautiful weather and great view, but alas, we only found stars once the sun went down. I did request that all attendees of the celebration dress in either red, white or blue and it was a truly patriotic sight, even though Americans were the minority. I was thankful for the participation.

I am also so thankful to live in a free country.

Rooftop party chatter.

Emily brought the best and most patriotic dessert. Berries are very hard to come by here so I was mighty excited to taste this traditional USA fare (jello is even on the bottom!).

Some snapshots of the patriotic dress.

The replacement for fireworks included the view of the lights from the city, and the stars from above.

Rajshahi.

What a place to see. This week was spent devleoping some Multilingual Education materials for the Kol and Koda ethnolinguistic groups, but it was also an opportunity for me to get out of Dhaka and see some other landscapes of Bangladesh. It was great to see this NGO in action as well as enjoy some countryside. Below are some photos from my week.

We arrived to have this statue of mangoes (pronounced "am" in Bangla) welcome us to the Rajshahi region. Later that week I was to buy six kilos of mangoes...

Some sweet and curious women I found working a little deeper inside the community. They were camera shy.

Some other women taking a break in their fields amidst that humid air. You simply cannot escape it, even if you leave Dhaka.

There are still many "jams" in Rajshahi, just more of the man-powered type than motorized.

Here are some shots of everyone hard at work, developing, critiquing, and celebrating the fact that Multilingual Education is being made possible for children of the Kol and Koda communities, by the Kol and Koda communities. No Coca-cola sponsorship out here.
It's truly inspiring.

Everyone who took part in some way this week.

On one of the final evenings, our team visited the Padma riverbank, one of the largest rivers in Bangladesh. Here, it is a place of leisure and labor, beauty and squalor all in one scene, as seems to be the way of Bangladesh.

The sunsets out this way were quiet and and also quite enjoyable.