After an evening with our new Rotarian friends we were able to get a much needed night of sleep. Some of us though, were awakened to a grand thunderstorm, this is the start of pre-monsoon season in Bangladesh.
We were put into vans in the morning for our 45 minute…well, ride (let’s just say Bangladeshi’s rules of the road are very different than ours) to the hospital.
When we arrived at Nurture Hospital we were greeted with a myriad of hopeful families. By days end we processed 134 people for potential surgery. Most of our patients have cleft lips and/or palates, about 107 of them have been scheduled for surgery.
A tradition we noticed as clinic day wore on was a black dot painted on many of the children and mother’s faces. That dot is called a Kazaler tipp and is meant to ward off evil spirits. Also, some infants wear a necklace with metal decorations called a Herr, also to keep away evil spirits.
I am so enamored with the kindness of the Bangladeshis and the beauty of the people. And the women’s clothing is something to behold. This is going to be quite an enriching experience.
“Throw your ‘ifs’ into the river”
-Bengali Proverb