Laughter in a Concrete House

One of our missions was to visit the children whose education is being financed by Swedish families. In a concrete house, consisting of only one room of 15 square meters, lived a family of seven people. There was no running water. A naked light bulb was hanging in the ceiling, and when the evening came the family rolled out carpets on the floor to sleep on. The grandmother in the family was a big, laughing woman with sparkling eyes. As soon as we came through the door she offered us tea and cakes. She was speaking heartedly in Bengali about the progress her three grandchildren did in school. When we left she hugged us goodbye with tears in her eyes. We could tell that she was greatly moved by our visit, and that made our work feel meaningful.

Women laughing.

Johanna Bungerfeldt
IIMC volunteer June 2016