Bangladesh
A Day in the Life: Esther
Head over with us to Bangladesh for the next instalment of our ‘Day in the Life’ series, and discover how BMS World Mission-supported teacher trainer Esther Sarker goes the extra mile for the schools she supports – quite literally!
8 am
My day starts at 8 am, when I get ready for my work. The Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS) office is not very far away, so it takes me ten minutes to walk there. Our office day starts at 9 am. First we worship together – both the BBCS and Social, Health and Educational Development Board (SHED Board) teams. It refreshes our minds and is a chance to have a little catch up with our colleagues. After finishing prayers, we all go to our desks. Mine’s in a separate room, and we start our daily work with a cup of tea.
9.30 am
In the morning, I check my paperwork and keep it up to date. I often speak with my supervisor to check in on how the schools I support are doing. Sometimes, I set up a video call to meet with the children from my schools. It makes me happy – it’s a great time when I can ‘feel’ the classroom from the office and feel that I’m present there. After that we get some time for lunch.
2 pm
When we are back from lunch, I start preparing the upcoming training that we need to do for the teachers – focussing on what is important for them. We look at what their needs are and make a list of repair work that needs doing in the schools so that the children can have a better environment to learn in. There is a lot to do with drawing up reports, budgets and organising workflow.
On the road
9.30 am – 2.30 pm
That was a general day, but I wanted to also share a special moment from one of my school visits to Dinajpur. We set off in the morning after our collective worship in the office, around 9.30 am. On the way, we visit Sirajganj Goyarea preschool – arriving there around 2.30 pm. We spend nearly an hour with the school, and after visiting the area we set off again for Dinajpur. It’s 333km from Dhaka and it takes about 10 to 12 hours to reach when the roads are good and everything is okay. If not, it takes more time!
3 am
Though we don’t spend much time stopping for food or any other breaks, we still arrive at 3 am, take a little rest, and then set off again in the early morning at 6 am for two more school visits: Bondanga and then Jagannathpur. In total, we spend about five days visiting the schools, making about eight preschool visits in that time.
8 pm
When we get back to Dhaka, we don’t feel too great! We’re very tired, and my body feels numb. It’s not easy personally for me to do these journeys: I experience travel sickness but I also need to travel a lot. And I really enjoy it when I visit the schools and get to spend time with the children. When I was younger the travel sickness was much more challenging, but now I can manage it. It’s why I always take the car’s front seat!
Esther asks you to pray for her work:
“Please remember in your prayers all of the staff and students who are enrolled in the BMS project. And give thanks to God for his blessing upon us.”
Why not commit to praying for Esther and her work as you sit down with your morning cup of tea? Or you could take a moment to pray when you’re on a long journey, like the ones Esther regularly makes to visit her schools. And you could even go one step further to become a 24:7 Partner and give regularly to support education work like Esther’s across the world. Click here to find out more!
