Happy Teeth in Dhaka...

At 6'6", he's a tough guy to miss, but it isn't his height that is striking so much as the size of his heart. Daniel Norton is a familiar sight around the streets of Dhaka. You can see him often...in the slums.

I can't honestly say I know much else about Daniel except what I have seen through Thrive, and that is a lot. He works tirelessly as an advocate for the poorest of Dhaka. Especially the children. I know of at least two schools that he is greatly responsible for. Shine and Iqra.

Don't get me wrong. There are so many other people involved. At Shine he partners wit Asma and Emma to run this school that once simply met on the sidewalk. Now Shine has grown into a school educating some 240 students. Not only is Shine taking care of these students academic needs, they have taken things a step further and opened a free clinic.

Today that have once again expanded their efforts to include a beautiful new dental clinic. Don't let appearances deceive you. As you notice how cool it looks (they did an amazing job), don't forget to remember what the pictures of the outside look like.

This beautiful dental clinic is the result of donations and hard work. I would love to give a shout out to everyone involved, but there are too many. Suffice it to say that they are a lot of the same people who make so much more happen in Dhaka. 

Everywhere you see people struggling, you will see Daniel and a group of amazing people like Asma, Emma, Sadia, Amna, Samreen, Tanisha and so many more. It's interesting to note that all these tirelessly generous women are cousins (okay, related...I think they are all cousins). Day in and day out this group of people work hard to make life a little better for the poorer residents of Dhaka.

Thanks to Daniel, the families around our little part of Dhaka now have access to free health and dental care. They do whatever they can, but when more advanced medical efforts are required, not only to they transport residents to the hospital, they foot the bill. 

So today was the grand opening. I can only imagine how many people will benefit from the services that they offer. 

It is a privilege and an honor having so many opportunities to work with such amazing people!

I am attaching a link to a gallery on FB so you can see the festivities:-)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.890466260990893.1073741980.459445137426343&type=3&uploaded=56

Singapore By Bus

Below is the link to the full album

https://www.facebook.com/leni.hester/media_set?set=a.10207513028805032.1073741851.1268439103&type=3&uploaded=91

It doesn’t matter how many times I board a plane; there is always a little thrill of excitement; kind of like stepping onto a transporter pad. I decided years ago to never become jaded and complacent about the opportunities I am given to see the world. My weakness is that I have always felt that if I didn’t need my passport, I haven’t gone far enough. Derek has chastised me about this philosophy and made it his mission to show me just how many wonders there are within the borders of the United States and he's done an admirable job…but still…my heart reaches out for borders beyond.

I’ll share a secret with you. Every time the plane takes off, I dedicate its departure to my mother. She had the travel bug as well and would get nearly giddy with excitement as we headed to each new destination. She died in 2007 and since then I pay silent homage to her each time we go wings up. “Here’s to you mom”.

So even though it was for mundane reasons that I was going, when the plane took off for Singapore I honored my little ritual and thought mom would approve of the ridiculousness of flying off to Singapore just for a doctor’s appointment.

One word struck me as I entered the gleaming Changi Airport. Clean. I love my little Bangladesh, but clean is the last word you could use to describe it. Singapore glistened. As I stepped outside, I saw no rickshaws or CNG’s. There was no honking, only an orderly line of passengers standing in a taxi queue quietly waiting as each pristine taxi moved forward for the next person.

Driving down the highway, there was absolute order. I was amazed that this had once been a third world country. I believe that some of the strategies for restructuring the country may have been harsh, but Singapore is a stunning city now. 

On the downside, one of the reasons for this orderly traffic environment is that it costs roughly $60,000 USD to procure permission to own a vehicle. The certificate is good for ten years and then you must renew. Needless to say, when your paying that much just for the luxury of owning a car, public transportation starts to look very enticing. The city has a fabulous structure of buses, trains and taxis.

The taxi driver delivered me to the luxurious Regent Four Seasons. The service probably deserves another post entirely, but I’m behind so we’ll skip most of it. Suffice it to say that the staff anticipated my every need, knew my name and called me Mrs. Hester the entire stay.

What matters is the city. There was a palpable sense of community pride for this beautiful metropolis. In the week I was there, I never saw a single piece of trash. Someone in Bangladesh needs to talk to someone in Singapore.

My mobility was limited during my stay, initially by my knee injury and eventually by my post-surgical recovery, but a very clever hostess in the Regent lounge told me about their open deck city tour buses. This was the perfect solution for a frustrated, mobility challenged photographer in a new city. Once I was released from the hospital I found the bus and off we went.

Each city I visit leaves a specific impression. In Colorado Springs it is the incredible landscape. In Dhaka it is the faces of smiling beautiful people (okay, yes…and garbage). In Singapore it was the buildings. The cityscape vibrated with energy and stunning examples of creative architecture reached towards the sky. You will probably notice that most of my pictures are of the buildings. Someday I’ll go back with Derek and we’ll explore so many more aspects of the city, but from my seat on the bus, with my knee propped up in front of me, I saw buildings. Buildings so beautiful they should have been in an art gallery.

I won’t go on here. But I encourage you to browse the pictures, understanding, of course, that they were taken from the roof of a moving bus;-)

I saw only the buildings, but next time I will see the museums, botanical gardens, zoos, harbor and so much more! If you ever have the chance, don’t miss the opportunity to explore it for yourself.

I am linking my blog to more pictures on facebook.

Today I walked with Super Heroes...

Oh not the kind you're thinking of. No capes or superpowers, though there were a lot of Orna's (scarves) and being able to walk through the bosti's (slums) of Dhaka in the blistering heat and humidity without keeling over dead is most certainly a super power.

I'm trying something different. I THINK this link will take you to a facebook picture album. 

No, today I walked in rubber boots with heroes bent on helping as many people as they can. I apologize because I can't remember all their names, but I know who started it and I am privileged to call her my friend.

Her name is Sadia and she is also the one who spearheaded the Jaipur Foot Initiative that I wrote about previously.She was there today along with two of her lovely cousins. I would love Sadia even more if she didn't somehow manage to look perfectly cool and collected in even the most dire conditions! There is a reason I stay behind the camera. Most Americans just don't sweat that attractively!

It's Ramadan now for Muslims the world over and that means a month of fasting for the devout. Each Day they fast all day and at sunset they break the fast with a meal of very specific foods. This is called Iftar.

Ramadan is a time for those who have, to pay special care for those who haven't.

Sadia and her family have donated and collected contributions to provide thousands of meals to the poor of Dhaka. Today we delivered 170 Iftar packages. 

I have been in homes in the bosti before. I thought I had seen everything, but today I saw a new level of poverty that left me on the verge of tears. The tiny metal shanty homes were half the size of those I have seen previously. Did I mention metal? In this heat?? In a very small spot of real estate along the river, you will find 1200 homes crammed close together. The closest thing they have to an address is a handwritten number above each door. 

I didn't think I could be shocked any more and yet I was, but what surprised me the most was that I still encountered the same beautiful glistening smiles and friendliness. The same welcoming attitude of the residents of the Shahjadpur bosti. The children were even poorer, but they still laughed and played. 

Even the volunteers, though sweltering in the heat, were cheerful and a pleasure to be with.

It's borshakal here, or rainy season and yesterday some of the homes stood nearly knee deep in water. Today we only encountered the left over mud, hence the rubber boots, though from the smell I'm not sure how much was mud and how much...well...wasn't.

Another super hero is Daniel. He's an American who lives here in Bangladesh. His hero costume seems to be khaki shorts and a tee shirt and his 6'6' frame and commanding presence ensures that he will be listened to when he speaks.  He has established multiple schools here and tirelessly spends his days seeing to the needs of anyone he can help. He was there today as were several of the teachers from the schools that he runs. I recognized people from both Shine school and Iqra, whose opening I recently covered for Thrive.

What really amazed me was the willingness to not just throw money at a situation. These were hand delivered to the families. Thousands of them. Now that takes a super hero.

The details don't really matter. I apologize if I got any of them wrong. What does matter is that I spent an incredible afternoon with incredible people and we got to do something great for people who can't do it themselves.

Happy Ramadan everyone!

https://www.facebook.com/leni.hester/media_set?set=a.10206929287731870.1073741845.1268439103&type=3&uploaded=79