Letter from Christa Sevika Sangha Jobarpar & Barisal
Dear Friends,
After all the excitement of celebrating a hundred years of the Church in Bangladesh, we soon settled down to our normal routine.
The Rains After Easter the monsoon started - a little earlier than usual. It is very welcome after the very hot and dry summer, but this year the rain poured down on us. There was plenty of lightning and thunder - and sometimes it looked as if the lightning came through our rooms. We are glad we have lightning conductors on the Church roofs. The roads are muddy and the paths very slippery. Most of the children have colds and coughs, and there is a constant battle with leaking roofs and white ants, which love wet wood and soon destroy it.
Medical problems have been on the increase. Sister Jharna had a hernia operation in the Fair Health Clinic in Barisal. Her ‘cabin’ was on the fifth floor and there were no lifts. An RC Sister was in the next cabin, so there were many Sisters going and coming every day. After two months’ resting Sister Jharna is up and about, and recently attended the Diocesan Council at Savar (near Dhaka) along with Sister Kalyani.
Mr. T. K. Byapari also had a hernia operation in Dhaka, and later after falling in the bathroom he had head surgery. He is well now and back at Barisal.
Then I had three months in Barisal to get my blood sugar stabilised. The price of medicines has increased greatly - Oroxine and Insulin now cost four times more than before.
Education On top of this the Non-Government High School teachers went on strike, as they wanted better wages. So the children’s education has suffered greatly. Our Primary School teachers did not strike. It is over now.
The Rainbow in the Sky With the incessant rain everything green has become greener, brighter and cleaner, especially the tin roofs of our buildings which have had good ‘shower baths’. Our fruit trees have produced abundant fruit -mangoes, guavas, custard apples, blackberries, wood apples (chalta) and amras (wood plums), kamrangas and pineapples. There are also many birds all over. The parrots like eating half a guava and throwing the rest down. The red-bottomed mynas eat everything. The lemon bushes have given us plenty of juicy lemons. The pomelos have also been very welcome.
Soon the children will have their holidays, and they come back for the Christmas term. Once Advent starts the children begin singing carols and there is excitement in the air. Christmas also involves a new dress!
We wish all our friends, wherever they are, a very happy and blessed Christmas, and every good wish for the New Year. May there be Peace and Joy everywhere.
MOTHER SUSILA, CSS
Jobarpar and Barisal