With A Blonde Bengali Wife well and truly reprinted, having reached #1 bestseller status (and still snugly in the top ten - #3 as I write) and gathering some positive reviews, I remain very grateful to all the people who are supporting it in whatever way.
This month I want to take a break from the writing and put the spotlight back on Bhola's Children. All is going well in the community. The new director, Zakir, and his young family, are continuing to settle in and call the place home.
Zakir is happy to get involved at all levels - though being decorated might not have been in his original job description! Meanwhile, his wife and daughters show off the more peaceful side of the boundary.
The female staff and girls have been concentrating on decorating their comfortable but functional accommodation and work spaces. (All the children have the opportunity to learn all trades, but gender roles so far tend to be firmly established...) The bedrooms and the tailoring/sewing room have all undergone the treatment.
There is always plenty of time for a well-earned picnic in the garden. It's winter in Bangladesh just now - for which, read the equivalent of a very, very good Scottish summer - so mornings and evenings are very cool but a lot of time is spent outside in advance of the increasing heat and monsoon rains.
This month I want to take a break from the writing and put the spotlight back on Bhola's Children. All is going well in the community. The new director, Zakir, and his young family, are continuing to settle in and call the place home.
Zakir is happy to get involved at all levels - though being decorated might not have been in his original job description! Meanwhile, his wife and daughters show off the more peaceful side of the boundary.
In addition to the woodwork and carpentry, the farming and agriculture projects, the metal workshop is really taking off (it's a bed frame in the picture) and offers another skill and train opportunity that will help the older boys when they seek employment outside.
The female staff and girls have been concentrating on decorating their comfortable but functional accommodation and work spaces. (All the children have the opportunity to learn all trades, but gender roles so far tend to be firmly established...) The bedrooms and the tailoring/sewing room have all undergone the treatment.
There is always plenty of time for a well-earned picnic in the garden. It's winter in Bangladesh just now - for which, read the equivalent of a very, very good Scottish summer - so mornings and evenings are very cool but a lot of time is spent outside in advance of the increasing heat and monsoon rains.
It's not that often that everyone goes out on a trip together (fifty children, all the staff, school and work commitments, extensive transport needs...!) but here's everyone lined on the main road outside the familiar blue and yellow gates
Wishing everyone reading, the very best of wishes at this festive time of year and thank you for the difference you have made in supporting Bhola's Children.
The very best of happiness and health in 2016.
Anne x
