As we drive outside the greater Dhaka city, we find beautiful sights along river Turag. The people here long to build a better life and to find new opportunities to improve their condition. BASC, the local Adventist educational institution there is working hard to ensure people have a brighter future.
[NAT SOUND-bustling streets, traffic, vendors, people]
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. [PAUSE]
It’s the tenth largest city in the world and one of the most densely populated places on the planet. [PAUSE]
This city has an estimated population of more than 15 million people in the Greater Dhaka area. In Dhaka, rush hour traffic can stand still for more than seven hours a day. Here traffic lights seem mere decoration as hundreds of thousands of rickshaws, buses, carts, bicycles, cars and motorbikes battle for space. It might be quicker to walk.
As we drive outside the downtown area, we find beautiful sights along the river Turag. In this area water is pumped from the river into pools--as the water evaporates, the sand settles and more land opens up, for new families to live and work. [PAUSE] A common sight along the river, are brick factories. Here people take advantage of the water and mud from the river to bake thousands of bricks in a single day. It’s a long and careful process that families like this one perform, on a daily basis.
[NAT SOUND]
Besides the chilly mornings, conditions around here are harsh and very uncomfortable. Workers here worry about their safety as they live in temporary houses made with stacked bricks without cement to hold it together. The parents in this factory, work hard, they worry about a future for their kids. What will become of them? Opportunities for growth and studies are very limited as people’s budget, can hardly supply the basic necessities such as food and clothing.
[NAT SOUND]
A little further outside the city--we arrive at BASC. This is a Seventh-day Adventist training center that is focusing on the young minds of the surrounding communities. Here Adventist teachers train the students for a future of service to God and society. Education is the only sure path into a brighter future.
Today is graduation day, the young children receive a diploma because they studied long and hard. The children are eager learners, they want to improve their family’s condition. Most of the children you see in this room have never yet heard, the wonderful hope that Jesus brings.
Please pray for the people in Dhaka, this densely populated city of Bangladesh. And pray for the people in the cities around the world--who are waiting to hear about the wonderful news of Jesus’ salvation!
