Greetings from Bangladesh!
Thirty years ago, I landed in Bangladesh for what I then thought would be a short stay. I visited Char Fassion on Bhola Island, which was the world of two thousand years ago. I had spent time in the Middle East, India, and a number of eastern countries, but for poverty none equalled Char Fassion. Today, it is a fast-developing community with much achieved and much still to be achieved.
What has been achieved is primarily the result of your support of the schools of CO-ID, that have taught, apart from normal school subjects, hygiene, the need for smaller families, and better and more efficient ways of doing things. Family sizes have decreased from an average of around eight children to four, and in the case of boys who attended the orphanage where I first began work in Bangladesh, the family size, in most cases, is down to just two children.
With over 40 schools built now, giving education to around 12,000 students, CO-ID has a huge responsibility on its shoulders that is increasing with the prevailing inflation.
In a volatile region, Bangladesh is a peaceful country, striving hard to work its way out of poverty. All it needs is a little help to achieve this.
If you can help with a donation then my sincere thanks go to you.
You can also get a copy of our latest newsletter here.
For your wonderful help in the past, and those many birthday wishes for my 90th, I thank you. May Christmas be the most enjoyable time for you and the New Year one of great happiness and achievement.
Fred Hyde,
Field Director
