GNCEM baby care and school visits

Today we boarded the  bus  this time remaining on board when the first lot of children got off and then accompanying the babies to the baby care centre.It was a very long drive of around 45 minutes to get there in extremely busy rush hour traffic and reminded me again that the babies would not normally have so many people to look after them on the drive. Quite  shocking really considering the heavy traffic etc. We then turned off the main road and proceeded down a bumpy dirt road through a residential area narrowly avoiding amongst other things, cows, goats, motorbikes, people, rickshaws  and various other modes of transport. The constant use of the bus's horn was now no longer surprising to us!

Once we arrived at the baby care centre, we had the privilege of helping to undress, wash and dry the babies before putting them in a clean nappy and clean  clothes whilst their own clothes were washed ready  for hometime . We then all helped feed them their breakfast of sweet cornflakes with very hot milk. All too soon we needed to leave as we had three GNCEM schools to visit that day but we did have time to share some of their story time  and song time. A truly wonderful experience!

Breakfast time

The first school we visited, in Daspara, was a large school and a reasonably  short drive away situated beside a very picturesque lake. The children were in assembly when we arrived and after introductions we were asked to perform a song  and some of us also did a drama based on the story of the prodigal son which went down well. We then were given a tour of the school and I was so impressed with the staff and pupils and it was obvious how much the teachers care about the children's education and welfare.

Outside St John's. Medium School 

Geography lesson

Maths lesson

Subir ( Subir and his wife Enoch head up the work of GNCEM)

The second school, Bethany School,was a tiny school for early years  serving the  Bangladeshi community The young male teacher was so charming and it was clear he  cared deeply for these little ones. The children were adorable and again we were asked to perform!I also prayed for the children before they went home.

We had lunch provided for us at the third school-curry and rice again! :-) This was a small school serving the immediate community and they were in the process of adding a shower block for the children as well  as building some accommodation for the  teacher.

It was then time for us to board the bus again and collect the babies.We changed them into their own clothes and sang a few songs before loading them up on the bus.

I was again struck by the dedication of all the staff we met today.

We had the privilege of seeing the babies reunited with their parents in the slum areas and it was a joy to witness . Despite being exceptionally  poor in the material sense there was an abundance of love in the parents faces on being reunited with their children again illustrating how money cannot buy you everything.

What a wonderful day! We have been amazed by the selfless work of the people we have met and we could learn so much from their attitude and sacrifice. A lot to process yet again.