Low income families in Bangladesh face many challenges, such as the build up of plastic waste, flooding, poor harvests and lack of access to clean water. This week, pray for families to overcome these obstacles with the help of Tearfund partners and programmes.
Sunday 8 December
Kalpona lives on the edge of a river. She’s seen her land grow smaller due to erosion caused by the climate crisis. ‘During a flood, the entire area is submerged,’ Kalpona explains. ‘Our houses get flooded. I am helpless.’ Pray for Kalpona and her family, that they will be comforted in these difficult times.
Monday 9 December
Kalpona and her neighbours came together and petitioned the Bangladesh government to build a dam near their homes to prevent flooding. Kalpona explains how the government replied saying, ‘They cannot pour money into the river.’ Pray for hope and faith for Kalpona to keep advocating on behalf of her community.
Tuesday 10 December
Praise God that Shushanto and Rheka have been able to pay for their children’s education by running a small business supplying clean household water – following training and finance support from Tearfund’s Transforming Communities programme. ‘My daughter took her intermediate exam [A levels] this year,’ says Shushanto. ‘The eldest son is doing his first year of a bachelor's in social work, and the youngest son is studying in fifth grade.’
Wednesday 11 December
Hamidul and his wife worked long hours collecting plastic waste. But the money they made from selling the waste wasn’t enough to feed the family. ‘My eyes filled with tears when I saw my family starving,’ remembers Hamidul. ‘It was very hard.’ Pray for waste collectors surviving on very low incomes.
Thursday 12 December
Tearfund’s partner in Bangladesh chose Hamidul, along with 67 other waste collectors, to take part in Tearfund’s Transforming Communities programme. ‘The support opened a new chapter in my life,’ Hamidul explains. After the training and a loan, Hamidul saved to buy a pedal tricycle and modify it to become motorised so he can collect more waste. Praise God that Hamidul can now feed his family and send his son to school.
Friday 13 December
When Mahamudunnabi retired from engineering, he invested in a rooftop garden to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for his family. But without experience in growing crops, Mahamudunnabi faced many failures. ‘I used to feel distressed seeing pale and unhealthy plants,’ he says. ‘Sometimes it made me so upset that I even thought of uprooting all of the plants at once.’ Lift up struggling farmers like Mahamudunnabi.
Saturday 14 December
Tearfund’s partner in Bangladesh met Mahamudunnabi and invited him to join their training in organic farming, rooftop gardening and how to make compost. ‘You can’t imagine how precious the training was for me,’ Mahamudunnabi explains. ‘The learning from the training saved me from great loss!’ Pray that the training will give Mahamudunnabi and many others new sources of food and income.
