Dear Ellen
This is the first email I have sent you about all the work being done
on Bhola Island, Bangladesh. Isn't technology marvellous nowadays.
How we can send each other important news and information without
putting pen to paper - and how it can reach hundreds of people at the
same time so effortlessly. This email will be a test of how well I am
doing with it!
-- Which brings me to news about Ahmedpur. It’s good and not-so-good.
I am now returning to Bhola Island, where our work is focussing on
the Ahmedpur region. In April this year, School 25 opened with a lot
of fanfare and a great deal of anticipation. What we at CO-ID didn't
anticipate was the huge demand for places. As usual, the schools are
built for 300 children, but on the opening day more than 1,100
arrived to claim a place.
-- We had to turn away over 700 boys and girls all desperate to enrol.
It was quite a sight I might add. So many eager young faces, so many
of them urging the teachers to fit them in saying "please, please...
one more won't matter." School 25 was literally bursting at the
seams, so we needed a plan of action. We talked to the local
committee and two additional new schools (26 and 27) are planned for
the same area. We are currently in the process of organising
everything, and this is where I need your kind support once more.
There are actually three things you can do.
-- Firstly, please make a donation and help us put two new schools on
the map in Ahmedpur.
Can you make a donation to build the new schools at Ahmedpur and
importantly, keep them running? As you probably know, we operate on
the proverbial shoestring and keep costs to a bare minimum. For
$6,500 we can build a school... another $6,500 keeps it running for a
whole year and covers the teachers' salaries and all ongoing costs.
-- Regular support is vital... even if you give us less money.
It may sound a little odd for us to ask for less money, but we are.
By making an ongoing commitment for regular support, it really helps
us more in the long run because we can guarantee that the schools can
stay open for the children.
For convenience, you can now donate online at our new web site:
http://www.fredhyde.org/Our_next_school.php or pick up the phone and
call 1300 731 916.
-- Secondly, tell more friends about Ahmedpur. Forward this email.
The more, the merrier as they say. Can you please forward this email
to as many people as possible, and please add your personal comments
to the email - you know CO-ID and your endorsement will mean a lot to
people who are new to our work. This will help promote all the good
work being carried on by CO-ID in Bhola Island, and make a big
difference to the children and people living there.
-- Thirdly, if you have a web page, please add a link to the new
CO-ID site on it. The address is: http://www.fredhyde.org
Our new site is up and running. It was kindly donated by Options
Strategy in Melbourne. (Thank you Tony and his team.) Tony told me
that we need more links pointing towards it so that it appears higher
on Google.
If you can do any - or all of these three things, it would be a huge
help for us. I'll be in touch with more news. If you reply to this
email it may take some time for me to respond as Bhola Island has no
email, but I will reply when I can.
For now, best regards
Fred Hyde
