Saturday 11th August (Part 3)

We went from the school to one of the slum areas where the people served by this project live, and walked through. The smell is probably the aspect which will stay with me – the sweet smell of rotting rubbish, which languished in huge mountains all around, the foetid stench of sewage and the acrid smell of woodsmoke all mingled. It was very muddy underfoot and the dark bamboo homes were crammed tightly together and had been damaged by the floods. People paid 500 takas (£5) a month rent for a tiny one room shack to the private owner of the land, who could sweep them away at any time if a better development opportunity arose. These people lived hand to mouth – most were unemployed. Many of the children were near naked with skin problems and as there were no latrines (although there were fresh water standpipes) it was likely that diarrhoea would be a major issue, particularly as they walked through floodwaters to reach the slum area. I have to say that the poverty I witnessed here was more depressing than anything I have seen in rural areas.