A pleasant visit. Una grata visita

For a few days, we have had the pleasure to welcome Paul and Gueri, who have taken to heart our project and have come to see it in situ. Paul has written a book entitled "I hate vegetables' (No me gusta la verdure) whose sales will come entirely to finance the construction of our school. We have had a great time visiting the construction works, as well as some primary schools we are collaborating with. Intense days, full of surprises, smiles and fond memories. Thank you, Paul and Gueri, for your support.

Durante unos días hemos tenido el placer de acoger a Pablo y Gueri, dos personas que se han tomado a pecho nuestro proyecto y que han venido a verlo in situ. Pablo ha escrito un librito titulado “No me gusta la verdura” el producto de cuyas ventas va a venir íntegramente a financiar la construcción de nuestra escuela. Han sido unos días estupendos, en los que hemos visitado los trabajos de construcción, así como alguna de las escuelas primarias en cuyo sostenimiento estamos colaborando. Días intensos, llenos de sorpresas, sonrisas y buenos recuerdos. Gracias, Pablo y Gueri, por vuestro apoyo.

At the School gate. A las puertas de la escuela

Visiting our neighbours in Gyasnogor. Visitando a nuestros vecinos en Gyasnogor

Visiting the tea factory. Visita a la fabrica de te

Visiting the primary school at Phulchora. Visita a la escuela primaria de Phulchora

Start of the works of the hostel. Comienzo de las obras del internado

Here you can see the beginning of the works of the boarding school for girls in our land at Gyasnogor, Moulovibazar. We are digging what will be the foundations of the building. The workers are skilled masons, but we have also taken people from the nearby tea plantation, so that we are creating some jobs to help them improve their financial situation. Before starting digging, "cutting the earth" as they say here, we said a prayer with all the workers so that everything be well and there will be no accidents during the construction. And we also prayed for the boys and girls who one day will populate this place with their laughter, games and studies.

Aquí puedes ver el comienzo de las obras del internado para chicas en nuestro terreno de Gyasnogor, Moulovibazar. Estamos cavando lo que serán los cimientos del edificio. En la obra están trabajando, además de albañiles cualificados, gente de la vecina plantación de té, de manera que estamos creando algunos puestos de trabajo que les ayuden a mejorar su situación económica. Antes de excavar, de “cortar la tierra” como dicen aquí, hicimos una oración con todos los albañiles y obreros para que todo se desarrolle bien y que no haya accidentes durante la construcción. Y rezamos también por los niños y niñas que un día poblarán este lugar con sus risas, juegos y estudios.

That’s the way the tea we drink is made. Así se fabrica el té que bebemos

Photos taken at the Moulovi Tea Estate in Gyasnogor, close to our future school.

Fotos tomadas en la plantacion de te Moulovi, en Gyasnogor, muy cerca de nuesta futura escuela

Taking the tea leaves to the factory. Llevando las hojas de té  a la fábrica

Weighing the tea leaves picked by women workers. Pesada del té recogido por las trabajadoras

The tea leaves collected during the day. hojas de te recogidas durante la jornada

Tea leaves must rest for a day. Hojas de té en reposo durante un día

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The managers of the factory. Los encargados de la fábrica

Flame creating a hot air current to dry the leaves. Llama que crea corriente de aire caliente para secar las hojas

Grinding the tea leaves. Triturado de las hojas de té

Collecting the ground tea. Recogida del té ya triturado

Tea in sacks ready for transport to the marketplace in Chittagong. El té en sacos dispuesto para su transporte a la lonja de Chittagong

Laying of the foundation stone. Puesta de la primera piedra

Today, 25th of August 2014, we have laid the foundation stone of our project. Here you have the introductory words given by the Brother Director of the Project:

His Excellency Bishop Bejoy D’Cruz,

Father Dominic Sarkar, pastor of Sreemongol Parish, 

Mr. Tapan and Brother Robi, representatives of the construction company,

Dear Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, and Friends 

In the name of the Marist Brothers I welcome you to the bhikti stapon of our future school and hostels in Gyasnogor. Thank you very much for your presence here today which is very meaningful for us. 

First of all I want to give thanks to the persons and institutions that have helped us to reach today’s ceremony: 

1.     In the first place Bishop Bejoy and the Diocese of Sylhet for finding this beautiful piece of land and giving us official and legal coverage to buy and develop it 

2.     Thanks to Fr. Dominic Sarkar and the Parish of Sreemongol for the continual support he is giving us whenever we need something 

3.     Thanks to the Marist Brothers worldwide, especially those in East Asia, Brazil and Spain for helping us to buy the land 

4.     Thanks to the NGOs and agencies that provided funds to start the construction works: Manos Unidas, Solidarity Education Development, Marist Solidarity Australia, FMSI and Aid to the Church in Need.
  

Now that we are starting the works is a good occasion for a declaration of intentions: What we are going to build here is a High School and hostels whose targets are the Tea garden workers’ Children, and the tribal communities. Of course, we will open the school to Muslim and Hindu students, but our main objective is to have 50% of our students from the most needed communities.
1.     In our understanding a school is not something closed in itself: so, we will continue to support and collaborate in the Sreemongol parish program in the many primary schools scattered in the tea gardens.
2.     We will offer our buildings, our personnel and our skills to improve the formation of the teachers at primary and secondary level.
3.     And finally, we intend to develop in our school, in the Diocese and in the Church of Bangladesh awareness on the Children’s Rights, setting up a Child Protection Policy and organizing seminars on this topic.
  

Dear friends, we believe in miracles because so far we have witnessed a certain number of them in the process of developing this project: someone decided to give us a part of his family heritage, a woman gave us a big amount while she was very sick at the hospital thinking of doing something good before dying, others have written books, organized music festivals, and so on… everything for the sake of the tea garden children. We have seen miracles so far, and I am sure God and our Good Mother will continue to help this project. Under their protection we put the starting of the works today.

Start point! Casilla de partida!

Today we have signed the contract to start building the Hostel for Girls. Great day!!! We also demarcated the place where the building will be located. 
We still lack funds for the School building, but God will help us!

Hoy hemos firmado el contrato para empezar las obras del Internado para chicas. Un gran dia. Tambien hemos demarcado la situacion de los cimientos.
Aun no tenemos el dinero suficiente para construir la escuela, pero Dios nos va a seguir ayudando.

With the contractor

Demarcating the foundations area

Our location. Nuestro terreno

Ver mapa más grande

The place where we are going to build our High School and Hostels
El lugar exacto donde vamos a construir nuestra escuela e internados

How can we not believe in miracles if we see them every day? ¿Cómo no vamos a creer en los milagros si los vemos todos los días?

Today one of our small dreams -- which was at the same time a need -- has become a reality. It was to have a vehicle to visit the tea plantations villages. The communities we serve are scattered over an area of 100 km in length by 60 km wide around Sreemongol. We had asked for help to buy the motorized tricycle that you see in the photos; in Bangladesh they are called CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and are normally the vehicles humble people use as taxis to move around. We didn't want a spectacular off-road, but something simple and cheap not getting us too far away from the reality of the poor people we serve. Well, it happened that someone has sent us the money needed for it. How can we not believe in miracles if we see them every day? Thanks to God and thanks to their emissaries, who on this occasion have been Emilio, Merche and Mary, our special angels. Curiously, on our way back home in our brand new CNG people were surprised to see a couple of foreigners driving such a humble vehicle, and more than one has taken pictures from us...

Hoy hemos hecho realidad uno de nuestros pequeños sueños, que era al mismo tiempo una necesidad. Se trataba de tener un vehículo con el que poder visitar los poblados de las plantaciones de té. Las comunidades a las que intentamos servir están diseminadas en un área de 100 km de largo por 60 km de ancho en la zona alrededor de Srimongol. Habíamos solicitado ayuda para comprar el triciclo motorizado que ves en las fotos; en Bangladesh se les llama CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) y son los vehículos en los que la gente humilde se desplaza normalmente utilizándolos como taxis. No queríamos comprar un todoterreno espectacular, sino algo sencillo y barato que no nos alejara de la realidad de la gente pobre a la que servimos. Pues bien, hete aquí que alguien nos ha enviado el dinero necesario. ¿Cómo no vamos a creer en los milagros si los vemos todos los días? Gracias a Dios, y gracias a sus emisarios, que en esta ocasión han sido Emilio, Merche y Mary, nuestros ángeles particulares. Por cierto que en el camino de vuelta a casa montados en nuestro flamante CNG la gente se sorprendía al ver a unos extranjeros conduciendo tan humilde vehículo, y más de uno nos ha hecho fotos.