A long time coming

Has it really been almost 6 months since my last post!  We've now entered the dry season in Bangladesh - the drains have some time to recover! There is one drain I walk past on a daily basis which I am going to take a picture of as its really quite a sight. When it rains the contents of the drain flow all over the road. Nice.

I recently went on a field visit with our then Minister, Lynne Featherstone. We went to see solar lighting which is being rolled out across Bangladesh for those communities who don't have access to the grid. Bangladesh has one of, if not the largest solar home system programmed in the world. It was great to get out of Dhaka again after a bit too long stuck in the office. But more importantly it was great to see the impact that lighting can have for women and girls! Not only can they make more money, they have a light on their way to the toilet which means they feel a bit safer when they wee at night!

And on the wee note, I was talking to women in the office here about public toilets in Dhaka. What do women do when the want to wee while they are out? The response - hold it in. Not ideal that is it? It made me think of the quote by one water and sanitation related organization on the day that they landed that space probe on the comet - "we have landed a probe on a comet millions of miles from earth, yet 2.5 billion people still don't have access to an adequate toilet". Makes you think!

On a lighter note, the kids and I have been making cakes. Spooky cakes, mango cakes, parsnip cakes.....parsnips. I miss parsnips.

One more Deshi activity - I went on a tour in a factory a few months ago. It made all sorts, from ceramics to clothing and pharmaceuticals! Quite an undertaking and an amazing insight into how they make the clothes you wear and the plates you eat from! This is a smart factory mind. Clean and with basic facilities in place. Not totally representative!