In the upcoming months, we will focus on the countries we serve and the work we do there. We want to give you a clear picture of what life is like for your child -- and we don’t mean facts that you could get out of an encyclopedia.

Since the Medical Mercy team is in Bangladesh this week, it seemed very fitting to start there…

After browsing through Bangladesh’s project newsletter photos this afternoon we just had to share some of them with you because they really show what life is like in Bangladesh. If you sponsor a child in Bangladesh you should be getting more photos and information in your project newsletter soon!

Bangladesh is a very small country about the size of the state of Iowa, but it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. There are 156 million people who live in Bangladesh. Can you imagine that many people living in Iowa? That’s over 50 times more people in the same amount of land!

Not only is the population dense, but the landscape is too! This makes it so much harder to travel anywhere or build and maintain roads, bridges, and power lines. For example, one of our projects is a mere 50 miles from the capital city of Dhaka, and yet it takes several hours driving in a truck and an hour boat ride to get there from the capital.

Bangladesh is a low-lying country and very wet as you can see from most of these photos. It is in a delta region with many rivers running through the country to the coast. Cyclones and monsoons are so frequent that a large amount of the country is flooded six months out of the year.

Farming is a main source of income for many of our children’s families but their fields are also flooded half of the year. During that time these farmers have to find another way to feed their families and earn an income.

And because water is everywhere, so are bridges.

Does your sponsored child walk to school? Chances are that he walks over several bridges just to get to school. Can you imagine using a bridge like the one above everyday?

Speaking of water… does your sponsored child have the responsibility of getting water for the family? In Bangladesh indoor plumbing is very rare and children usually get their water from nearby wells or rivers and carry it home. 

Or maybe your sponsored child helps the family by washing clothes, fishing, or gathering firewood?

Have the letters you received from you child given you an inside look at what life is like in Bangladesh? Let us know! We'd love to hear what you've learned!