Today we rested. It was needed. We rose for breakfast at nine and met to make sure that we had written up all the stories and to check that we had all of the facts we needed.
It took most of the day: many faces, many places, many stories, much hardship, much hope.
At around ten minutes to six it rained. Proper, big, wet rain, lasting for a few hours.
We were waiting for it to rain so we could see how powerful it was, how big, and to feel its coolness after days of baking heat.
The people of this country were waiting for it to rain so they could drink cleaner water, water their animals and their crops. I think their need was greater than ours.
We met the Bishop of Khulna who had invited us over to his place for tea. He was a gracious host and we were served good food with plenty of water melon. The mangoes were very sweet. He signed a Climate Justice campaign card and posed for a few photographs.
I longed to go outside and dance in the rain.
We returned to the hotel and said goodbye to Michael our host. He shared gracious words of thanks for all our supporters:
“I know the way you raise money, the little becomes a lot. The one, five, ten pounds accumulate to become a lot.”
This echoed the Bishop’s words: “I thank CAFOD for its work, for its efforts to raise money and to help our country develop. By your work through Caritas Bangladesh and other partners you make a big difference to us.”
The next day, our last in Bangladesh, we rose at 5.30am. There was a long day ahead. 23 hours later, I climbed into bed back in England.
Two flights gave us the chance to reflect on what a journey we had been on and how we were feeling now.
Yet the plane provided ample means of distraction and it was oddly difficult to make time for prayer and reflection. I knew this was the world I returning to – entertainment, distraction, busyness, hard to pray, hard to reflect.
We all had been struck by different things during the week: water, be that too much, too little or too salty; the heat; the resourcefulness of the people we had met and their loyalty to the programmes that were supporting them and so much more.
Although I was looking forward to my own bed, to tea and real milk, to pie and peas, to seeing my friends and loved ones, I realised that this was mixed with a feeling of wanting to remain.
It was hard to leave. I know Bangladesh had worked its way into my being.
Posted by Martin, bangladesh group
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