From suffering to celebration (Programmes Workshop Day 5)

Jannine introduces new protocols on cooperation

Phil "I cause suffering" talks about the PRG

Light relief, Yohanna's observational comedy

Alan's birthday cake

Alan thanks Jiptha after a presentation from TLM Bangladesh

On the last day of our Programmes Workshop, much like every other day, there was a mixture of laughter and serious discussion.  The word of the day, rather tongue in cheek and with more laughter each time it was used, was 'suffering' - at the hands of internal structures, government regulations, each other and a host of other things, but we also found plenty of time to celebrate.  We talked about a wide variety of topics, from protocol on how various members work together, to the Projects Review process, budgets, communication and to finish, a reminder of what has been learnt.  From that and other ongoing discussions, it is clear that much has been learnt.  These meetings have been a great opportunity to learn from each other, to see what works where, what can be added in to your own activities to better serve people affected by leprosy, people with disabilities and other marginalised people.  Often the informal discussions are the most useful times of all, and the conversations over dinner have been really interesting all week.  We took a little time at the end of the day to eat cake to marks the birthdays of both James (EW) and Alan, and also say a few words of gratitude to Alan, who is retiring in a few months after many years of service to TLM, and will be much missed.  For many of us there won't be many other opportunities to say good bye, so we made sure to do it, much as he would have preferred us not to say anything.  It has been a great week, a wonderful chance to talk, learn and share ideas, to strengthen our relationships, laugh together and enjoy each other's company and ideas. 

Thank you to all who have been here, it has been a joy to share this week with you, and may God bless you and your work as we return home to get on with it.  Thank you also to all of you who have been reading this blog and praying for my whole trip and these meetings, it is much appreciated.  

One or two folk have already left, others are leaving later today, another group will head to the airport first thing tomorrow morning, and my own wee group will depart early tomorrow evening as I start my long journey back around the globe.  There are a few who have had to stay longer due to infrequent flights to their destinations.  Hopefully I and a few others will be able to get some sightseeing in tomorrow, as while we did go elephant riding, and living in the Night Bazaar means that there are plenty of opportunities to shop, other chances to see the city have been limited.  We are but a few streets from the old city, so we will be heading there first.  Please do pray for us as we travel, as many people have long journeys, awkward connections, and will be very tired, especially those of us travelling overnight, or leaving very early in the morning. 

All the gang - TLM staff from Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, DR Congo, England & Wales, India, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Sudan, Timor Leste and the TLM International office (thanks to Jannine for taking this)

From laughter to disaster (Programmes Workshop Day 4)

Some time off to go elephant riding

A long day, but starting with a lot of fun this morning.  Some rearranging was required due to our original booking having fallen down because the elephant park we were planning to visit double booked us, so we headed further out of town to another place, meaning that the trip took somewhat longer than planned and the afternoon was a bit pressed for time, and finished somewhat later than planned.  The elephants were wonderful, though most of us came back feeling ashamed that elephants can draw better than we can, but we all really enjoyed ourselves.

International Fellowship - Francois (DR Congo), Kay (Myanmar), Heidi (Netherlands), Wilson (South Sudan), Yohanna (Niger), Jiptha (Bangladesh), Jill (Scotland) and Mary (India).  Hiding in the background are staff from Australia, England and Wales, Nigeria and Angola

Heidi from TLM Netherlands outlining their innovative ideas

In the afternoon we started off looking at the innovative ideas being considered, or already being implemented in our various countries, which was fascinating.  I shared about the Bela children's book, TLMT India have been doing reconstructive surgery in government hospitals, TLM Bangladesh are working with other NGOs to increase access to leprosy care into areas their projects don't cover, TLM Myanmar are planning to use video and mobile internet to allow physios to consult with each other even when they are in different places, TLM Netherlands are working on a computer game to teach young people about leprosy, TLM Nigeria are looking at sport as a way into both integration and case detection, TLM Papua New Guinea are planning to reintroduce reconstructive surgery, TLM South Sudan are looking at closer cooperation with other NGOs, and they also want to open an elephant park as a fundraising tool (that last was a joke - their elephants are dangerous!), TLM DR Congo are keen to work closely with agencies working on other Neglected Tropical Diseases, TLM Australia are looking in to academic research into the financial burden of leprosy disability, TLM Mozambique want to source project funds from multinational companies...  And these are just a very few of the ideas being discussed.

TLM Mozambique (with translation support from Angola) share their particularly artistic innovations

We then moving on to look at research, partnerships and collaboration, child protection and climate change, which included a game, which showed the hard choices poor communities have to make on whether to use their already limited resources to plan for a disaster which may or may not come.

Yohanna from TLM Niger taking the climate change game very seriously

Programmes Workshop Day 3

Steve from TLM England & Wales shares their perspective

Mr Timekeeper Terver of TLM Nigeria keeps us in order

Phil loved Yohanna of TLM Niger's ideas on integral mission :)

Another long day of meetings today, though worthy of note was the usually late Terver Anyor of TLM Nigeria who kept us all right up to time in his role as chair, which is more than another other chair has done this week.  He says he'll be back to his usual ways tomorrow though!  We spent the morning looking at issues around specific problems faced by members with different roles, particularly about stories and fundraising opportunities, and whether saying no to a call for applications might be the wisest course in some situations.  Our overarching focus this week is the new Global Strategy, and we need to ensure that any project which we are designing and for which we seek funding must be based on sound needs analysis and must be aimed at helping us fulfill the missions laid out in the overall strategy and in the individual country strategies of all members involved in the project, whether in designing, resourcing or implementing that project.  In the afternoon we looked at integral mission, cultural misunderstandings and global indicators, a fairly diverse programme, it must be said!  By far the most fun bit was the session on culture and how the differences can impact how we work and relate to each other.  Sadly I don't have photos of the skits performed by staf grouped roughly by continent as I was filming them, but I can assure you that they were wonderful. 

Europe trying to find a single issue we can pick on, as, much like the rest of our colleagues at these meetings, we have all been exposed to a variety of cultures.  In the end we developed a skit about the apparent (and in this case actual) lack of hospitality seen in a British home.

Africa planning their 3 skits, one in Portuguese about how important it is to make guests feel welcome, one in French about the differences between city and village life, and one in English about the different approaches of Europeans and Africans to the same task.

South Asia plan their skit about the culture clashes when a staff member from Myanmar invites colleagues from India and Bangladesh for dinner, and the party is then crashed by a Nepali colleague.

East Asia Pacific group rehearsing their play about courtship in Papua New Guinea

Programmes Workshop Day 2

Another fascinating day, with a morning looking at good practice from projects and activities in Bangladesh (mainstreaming disability into a food security project), Timor Leste (work with a Disabled People's Organisation), India (vocational training and work with government departments), Myanmar (advocacy) and Sri Lanka (working with the local church), with an afternoon out of the city (after a hasty bit of rearranging) at McKean Hospital, which is a leprosy referral hospital which also provides a wide variety of services to people with disabilities and care for the aged.  Patients at the hospital are also trained in a variety of income generating activities.  The first skills people learn are skills they can use in day to day life to save money, or to make things to sell to their neighbours, like dish washing liquid, agriculture and animal husbandry, and also handicrafts which can be sold both in the local markets and overseas (McKean supplies some of the charity catalogues most Brits will be familiar with, as well as the TLM Scotland shop).  It was fascinating to hear how the centre has developed, from a leprosy hospital, through a disability centre and now setting the benchmark for elderly care in Thailand (literally) - though still retaining their work with leprosy patients and disabled patients, particularly with patients from ethnic minorities without Thai citizenship who are scared that government hospitals would send them back across the border.  After we returned, a little time was required for the Indian, Bangladeshi and many British staff to psychologically recover from the fact that the tea break had been cancelled while we were away at McKean, and we had to go straight into the next session, which was looking at fundraising.  It is really exciting to see how the fundraising activities are developing around the globe, as the reduction in traditional sources of finance means that creative thinking is required.

Jiptha of TLM Bangladesh tells us about mainstreaming disability in a food security project in the north of Bangladesh

Bureaucracy in India - it can take a very long time to get all the required signatures from all the government departments to approve an initiative (this one is at 9 months and counting).

K from TLM Myanmar shares about their advocacy work

Guess where Francois works!  He was telling us about their fundraising options.

Hearing about TLM Angola's fundraising ideas (without having had a cup of tea!)

It was wonderful to see these paper beads being made by patients at McKean, as TLM Scotland sells some of their handicrafts - like necklaces and earrings made with recycled paper

Heather told us that salted eggs can be sold for as much as 10 times the price of ordinary eggs, so it's a very simple and effective livelihood skill to learn.

Environmentally friendly farming techniques can make a real difference in reducing chemical pesticide use and in introducing more variety to a family's diet

Dee, who works in the Assistive Devices department is one of the 40% of staff who are former leprosy patients.  He has worked at McKean for more than 30 years.

Wouldn't you like to retire here?  One of our senior colleagues is retiring soon, so we were thinking about signing him up!

Programmes Workshop Day 1

Sian from TLM England and Wales introduces the strategy

Dr Eliane presents her group's thoughts on challenges faced

I am now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where 29 people from across the TLM world have gathered to discuss and plan and learn from each other.  We represent about 17 countries, I think the list is as follows: Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, DR Congo, England and Wales, India, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Sudan and Timor Leste.  The first day was looking at issues around our new Global Strategy, the challenges we face in implementing it, and about how we measure our performance.  It has been great to see old friends of TLM scotland, who have previously visited us, like Dr Eliane, from TLM Angola, who was last with us in June, Len Len from Myanmar who visited 2 years ago and Terver from TLM Nigeria who has visited us several times, and does a great job when asked to speak to a kids' club (he's good with adults too of course).  It was also wonderful to meet people that I have previously only exchanged emails or skype calls with, or just heard about from colleagues. 

Wilson from TLM South Sudan shares his group's ideas

The best bit was the wee stories we kept hearing of different encouragements and issues people are facing.  Projects which are working well, new ways of working, innovative ideas, and the reality of life in different places.  Wilson from South Sudan was sharing that things are calmer there, but everything is still a bit uncertain.  He told us that TLM South Sudan was invited by Handicap International to get involved in work on draughting a Disability Policy for their government, which was supposed to have gone before their parliament in December, but due to the conflict, is still waiting to be passed.

Mary Verghese of TLMT India outlines their Country Strategy

 Eliane from TLM Angola shared her disappointment from attending a WHO conference late last year on NTDs (Neglected Tropical Diseases), where organisations specialising in particular diseases were encouraged to work together to achieve good results for patients, and were given case studies of how this had worked well in some African countries.  However, the representative of another Angolan organisation which was being urged to work with TLM flatly refused to have anything to do with leprosy so as not to have to share resources. 

James from TLM Australia in full flow

Alan Gray of TLM International enthuses us about indicators

NTDs are a real area of interest at present, as much leprosy treatment and care finds common ground in some aspects of the treatment and care for patients of those other diseases, and while in some areas leprosy care is a bit of poor relation, in others we are well ahead of the game, and using the skills of our staff, and the experience of programmes run over so many years, have much to offer colleagues from other organisations, and in our turn can learn much from them to improve patient care.  Along with this is the fact that much of our work serves not just people affected by leprosy, but also people with disabilities and other marginalised groups.  Jannine from TLMI is working with Tearfund about making some of their projects more inclusive for people with disabilities, and the proven example of TLM Myanmar's work with leprosy in the wider context of disability care is always encouraging.  They run a network of Disability Resource Centres, which provide care and training for people affected by disability and their families.

Looks like being a really interesting week!

Celebrations

Group discussion, Shilpi (in green and yellow) is project staff

Another busy day, though with a lot less travelling!  The morning was spent in the office, with some time attending a seminar on Gender Linkages and Rights, which is one of a programme of 15 sessions which looks at a whole variety of gender issues.  Most of those attending were women, but not all.  The majority of our Self Help Group members are women.  Mallica, the project manager, was determined that the older women there would be heard just the same as the younger ones, some of whom are still at high school or college, and so are used to doing presentations and such like.  Older women often have no voice in this culture, and she wanted to make sure that their opinions were heard too.  After the seminar, I spent several hours with colleagues working on issues around reporting and funding applications, funnily enough I have no fun photos from that session for you!

The afternoon was by far the best bit.  TLM provides educational support through Self Help Groups for several hundred children in Dhaka (see yesterday's blog).  These are children from poor families, often with one or more parent disabled, or who face stigma from having a family member affected by leprosy.  Without this support, they would not be in school.  Just yesterday one mother in Bandhabari thanked us in tears for allowing her son to stay in school.  In Scotland we take education so much for granted, here it is something incredibly valuable.  As well as the financial support, TLM provides peer mentoring for the children, and rewards academic excellence.  Of the hundreds of children, I met about 20, what might be called the cream of the crop, today, and presented them with their prizes for doing particularly well at school.

Music from Dipthi and her proud Dad

Three children had finished first in their class (including Dipthi in the photo on the right), three had finished second in their class, and there were students who have achieved an overall mark of A+, A or A-, and they were given new rucksacks, lunch boxes and juice bottles.  Some of their parents were looking proudly on, and it was a wonderful privilege to celebrate with them.  This educational opportunity and their own hard work will give these children and their families a very different future to the one they would otherwise have faced.  The photo below shows me with the final group of 4 students, who all achieved an overall mark of A-, along with TLM Bangladesh Dhaka Programme Manager Mr Jiptha Boiragee and Dhaka Community Based Rehabilitation Project Manager Mrs Mallica Halder.  As ever, trying to get everyone to look in the same direction at once is a challenge!

The road (and village) that Motiar built

A long day of travelling not very far.  Where as yesterday's long journey took me half way across the country (literally), today's similar amount of travel time took me a little way out of the city and back.  Of course when I say a little way out of the city, that is really as the crow flies, and not factoring in the almost constant traffic jams.  We left at 6am to try and beat them, and didn't do too badly, we got there in around 3 hours, much better than the 5 it took to come back.

Today's trip was to the visit of Bandhabari, a leprosy village outside Dhaka.  The story of the village starts in the late '70s/early '80s with a group of leprosy patients from Dhaka who met in hospital at DBLM.  Although the stigma was even more severe then than it is today, and they know that coming back to Dhaka would not mean being reunited with their families, they decided to come back and stay together, and make a living begging.  At that time there really weren't any other options for people affected by leprosy, especially with some of the disabilites some of these patients already had.  So they moved back to Dhaka, and lived by begging, sleeping rough usually on station platforms, but people kept making them pay 'rent' for sleeping there, and one of the community, a very determined man called Motiar, decided that enough was enough. He went to see the leader of the Opposition to ask for some land to build their own village.  Some years later the Opposition became the government, and land was granted to the community.  Although it being for people affected by leprosy, it was far, far away from the city, in the middle of a forestry planation.  The army built them houses, a community hall and a couple of barns, and dug a well and put in a water pump, and they moved in.  They quickly realised that one important thing was missing - a road to connect their village to the 'main' road, a real problem for a community where many had serious disabilities.  Motiar got on the case, and in 2002 the road was built.  He is currently the chairman of the village, and continues his work trying to improve the lives of the inhabitants.   He is also a nominee for a Wellesley Bailey award, which marks significant contributions to improving the lives of people affected by leprosy.  No-one from Bangladesh has ever won before, so TLM Bangladesh is really hoping that he will.

The village is supported by The Leprosy Mission Bangladesh through their Dhaka Programme, with a number of children supported to attend school by either Dhaka Community Based Rehabilitation Project (CBRP), which is funded by the Scottish Government, or by an associated education project supported by donors from the Netherlands.  All the students were chosen to receive support by the community themselves.  The students academic marks are displayed for all to see in the community hall, and several of them are doing very well indeed - in fact the Scottish supported students are doing better!  To be fair that is probably because they have been in school longer, as the academic year had already started when the funding came in from the Netherlands.  But their parents are so happy and proud that they are studying, and will have many more opportunities than they did.  There is also some sewing training which started recently, and one man has been given support to start a cloth trading business, which is going well.  Sadly the first time he started the business, he broke his arm in an accident and has had to take out a further loan, but the project staff are confident he will pay it back well in time.  Afterwards, we had a wee tour of the village, and met some of the inhabitants, including Munnah, who, in spite of serious leprosy related complications over the years which have led to deformities in both of his feet and the amputation of his right hand due to an ulcer, remains a very positive man, with a great sense of humour, and has real hope for the future.

We then spent several hours working with the community on a funding application we are submitting to the UK Department for International Development.  We have had our concept note accepted, so are writing up the full application for an expansion to Dhaka CBRP to increase the support for livelihood development.  In project planning, it is vital that the community be the basis of any project, as without their ownership it will fail, so we were keen to get their input on what kinds of income generating activities they would be interested in learning and think could work in their unique context.  They are severely hampered by their distant location, but creative thinking is both essential and commonplace in communities like these, so we have come away with some very interesting ideas.  The children were quickly bored in such a long meeting, and had great fun playing outside with their parents' and grandparents' wheelchairs while the grown ups talked.

On the road again

And this time literally!  A long day driving today, just over 12 hours, but with two lovely stops off in the earlier part of the day.  I was travelling with a lot of luggage belonging to some staff who will be leaving DBLM later this year and Rev Matthew Halder, the TLM Bangladesh Country Leader, so it was a good day.  The first stop was to a project in the Rangpur area called the Hagar Project, probably easiest described as a refuge for vulnerable women.  Their heartbreaking stories include being abandoned by their husbands, rape and sex trafficking, all made so much worse by being rejected by their families and communities after surviving those injustices.  They all have beautiful children, and I had great fun making faces to entertain them.  In the photo, the two ladies in the back left are project staff, which is a tough job, as they spend so much time helping their clients deal with the tragedies they have faced, and also work with the communities which almost always side with the men rather than the women. 

Ladies of the Hagar Centre

Farida, the lady in the spotty red and white outfit was due to find out today the decision in the court case which project staff and some volunteer lawyers and another NGO partner had helped her to bring against the husband who abandoned her.  We gave them a lift part of the way, and I hope to hear the result soon.  A past successful case has been a great encouragement to her and the other ladies who are in a similar position, with one lady having won significant compensation as well as ongoing child support.

The next stop was pretty special too.  TLM's Gaibanda Jaipurat programme runs a project where women and girls who are either leprosy affected themselves, or have family members who are, and so face stigma and difficulty accessing traditional means of gaining education, skills and experience, are trained in tailoring in their

Presenting Shumaya Akhtar with her new sewing machine

community over 6 months.  Upon graduation, they are given a sewing machine, allowing them to set themselves up in business and earn money to support themselves and their families.  Five of them graduated today, and Matthew and I shared the honour of presenting them with their new sewing machines.  They are very heavy indeed!  The next lot of girls are already well on the road to becoming skilled tailors too, and it was great to meet them, and the project staff.

We then hit the road, and just kept on driving, stopping only for a late lunch.  Unfortunately we hit Dhaka as the garment factories were closing and spent several hours in a traffic jam.  I had dinner with Matthew's family, and then was driven back to the guesthouse, which took perhaps 10-15 minutes for an 8 km drive as by this point rush hour was well and truly over, though Dhaka being Dhaka, it was still buzzing.  He told me that it usually takes him at least 1 hour in the morning and usually 2 hours at night by car.  I may moan about my commute, but at least I cover a somewhat larger distance!  Tomorrow is a very early start, so I am off to bed very soon indeed.

DBLM

Relapse Workshop

More travelling yesterday brought me to the north of Bangladesh, I flew into Saidpur, then we drove through Nilphamari city to Notkhana, the home of DBLM Hospital.  It was a quiet day, a wee walk, some photography and some warm hospitality, but today has been much busier.  I started off at devotions at the hospital, then went to a workshop currently being held for doctors from across TLM Bangladesh on dealing with relapse cases.

After a meeting, I was taken into Niphamari city to a clinic held weekly at the government hospital there.  Technically they have a room assigned, but it's pretty small, so most of the clinic was held outside in the yard.  On average they diagnose one or two new cases of leprosy here each week.  One of them today was a small boy, whose father had leprosy, and suffered severe complications and other health problems and sadly died.  I think the boy was only 6 or 7, which is unusually young to be develop leprosy, usually they see cases starting from around 12 years old.  This clinic is one of 24 clinics run by TLM staff in upazila government health complexes.

Physio technician testing sensation

 Upon my return to DBLM, I talked to one member of staff about the research projects going on here, as this area is particularly important for medical research due to high population and case detection, combined with fairly low population mobility, and is home to a number of important international research studies.  I then joined the doctors for lunch, before meeting a number of patients, and then getting a whistlestop tour of the hospital departments.  Once that finished, I spent more time in four areas - physiotherapy, the lab, assistive devices, where one very happy patient was having his first go with his new prosthesis, and the agriculture centre.  The physio technicians showed me some of their work.  I met a variety of staff during the day, many of them have been with TLM for upwards of 20 years, some always in DBLM, others have moved between projects, and I met two former staff who have now officially retired after over 30 years at DBLM, but are still around helping out, one an extremely experienced lab technician who is helping to train up his successors, and another former leprosy control officer who still helps with some of the research studies.  The hospital opened in 1977, and the first staff had a very difficult time, facing the same stigma that their patients faced, which makes their commitment to the patients all the more touching. 

First fitting of a new below the knee prosthesis

I also got a chance to see mycobacterium leprae through a microscope, a new patient had come in with a very severe case, the lab technician preparing the slide for me hadn't looked at it before, and his comment was 'oh wow!'.  Usually there are many fewer bacteria, and they are looking forward to getting a new microscope which shows the slides through a monitor, which will make it easier to see the cases with only one bacteria, which can sometimes be missed at present.  I also visited the assistive devices section, where they produce things like sandals, shoes and braces for people with leprosy or general disability, as well as prostheses.  I also saw the large TV where the women patients like to watch the soaps of an evening.  It as great to see the hospital farm, they have 12 cows which provide milk for the patients, which is nutritionally important, and they grow a variety of crops, and have two ponds with fish.  Some of this is for consumption and some for sale.  For example they grow a different kind of rice to the one usually eaten in the area, which sells for a higher price than the more common kind.

Weeding the rice - it takes skill to recognise grass from rice and remove the right one!

All in all a full day, and it's not over yet - I am having dinner with doctors, then going to the 'Fair of Happiness', a social evening with music and dancing for the patients held every Tuesday with singing and dancing, which is very popular.  It is organised by the hospital counsellor as part of the mental health provision in the hospital, as patients can have a hard time dealing with not just physical problems, disability and so on, but also stigma, which can lead to problems with depression, and this area of care is very important.  Should be a fun evening!  Tomorrow is a 12 hour (at least) drive back to Dhaka, stopping in at two projects en route.

After a long journey, I have arrived safely in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  I had a few hours off to relax, then it was lunch and straight into a series of meetings to sort out the precise details of my agenda (which has changed a bit since I posted last) and find out a bit more about the Dhaka Community Based Rehabilitation project, which is funded by the Scottish Government and TLM Scotland.  I attended a staff meeting, so met most of the staff, with the meeting going backwards and forwards between English and Bangla - and once again wished I spoke Bangla, as given the laughter I am sure I missed some very good jokes!  We were focusing on the area of peer education, as one project aim is to improve educational opportunities and attainment of young people from families affected by leprosy and/or disability or otherwise marginalised.  There are two key strategies here, one is providing scholarships to help pay for the expenses of attending school, things like uniforms, books and resources.  For more advanced students, this can include school fees, which in primary school are paid by the government.  The students were selected by the Self Help Groups their parents belong to, with around 80 students funded by the Scottish Government and several hundred more funded through TLM Netherlands.  The other strategy is to encourage the students by providing peer education and mentoring support, and that was what was being discussed today.  It looks as if I may well be presenting awards for academic excellence in a few days to the students who have done best in this past academic year.  I will be spending two days out in the field with project staff later this week, so look forward to more news later.

This photo is of most of the staff team ranging from the Programme (Jiptha) and Project (Mallica) managers, though most are staff who work with directly with communities.  Back row l-r Sujit, Prodyut, Probir, Jiptha, Bithi, Roslin, front row l-r Soikat, Mallica, Shilpi, F. Mousmi, Gopal.  Unfortunately Mahsin, their Monitoring and Evaluation officer, with whom (along with Jiptha) I have worked most closely recently, wasn't at this meeting, but I will make sure to get a photo of her before I go.  We will be meeting later this week to look at a funding application to the Department for International Development for an expansion to this project to increase the livelihoods support (skills training and access to micro-credit) in some of the more outlying areas, as well as to look at reporting on the Scottish Government funded project.  All very complicated indeed, but she is a very capable young lady.  We are delighted to have got through the first stage of application to DFID, and are working hard on the full application.  Sadly our last application, for a project in Nigeria, was unsuccessful, but we hope to use that as a learning experience and see this one funded, reaching many more people more effectively than the current project budget allows us to do.

Anyway, I'm off to eat my very tasty smelling dinner, then go to bed, it's been a very long day - it's been about 30 hours since I last slept, and have to get up and let people into the building tomorrow morning before flying up to Nilphamari to visit DBLM and hopefully one of their rural clinics too.