I triggered a (partial)payout for these needs:

300 shorts	421,00 €
300 caps	20,00 €
300 cup and plate set	350,00 €

Thanks again to everybody who contributed to this event. The children's party is an annual event and the BWA is looking forward to taking another group of children next year.

300 very happy faces

The party on Sunday was a HUGE success. I have posted some photos here on Betterplace, and you can also look at more on the BWA Facebook page, here (the page is open so you don't have to be a member of Facebook to have a look).

It rained here the night before the party, the first big rain of the year, so that cooled things down a bit. The children arrived and were given new t-shirts and shorts to swim in, and breakfast. After breakfast they watched a magic show and the Bangladesh version of Sesame Street (performed by a local theatre group). Next it was time for the water - you can see the smiles yourself to see how much they enjoyed it. After a couple of hours of fun in the water it was time for a late lunch and ice cream, then goody bags were distributed and the children went 'home'. For many that is back to a children's shelter, others back to a tin shack in one of Dhaka's numerous slums.

One of the group leaders from the Apongaon drug rehabiliation centre, which brought 30 boys along to the event, wrote to us on Sunday evening to say how proud he was that the 30 children who had had the chance to go to the party, took their goody bags back to the shelter and shared out what they had received with other children who didn't get to go.  Pretty impressive. This is a special event. Thanks to all of you for allowing it to take place.

 

 

Target reached

Thanks everyone - a total of 791 Euros raised through Betterplace. I have closed the donations here today because this amount, plus what has been collected from other sources is enough to cover the party costs. The briefing meeting with the volunteers was held yesterday, so it's all go here in Dhaka. We will leave at 7am on Sunday to meet the kids (who are getting picked up in buses) at the park, about 1.5-2 hours drive away (that's how bad the traffic is in this city!)

300 goody bags have been packed and all the kit is ready to go. All that is left to do is boil 350 eggs and buy 350 bananas from the market on Saturday (part of the childrens' breakfasts).

Looking forward to sharing the photos on here next week.