Arrived back in Dhaka yesterday (Thursday) afternoon after a very intensive trip to various southern areas of Bangladesh. I've visited many of MAF's partners projects and its really encouraging to see the work that's being done. I had mixed emotions as we took off on the MAF floatplane from the Shunderbans area of southern Bangladesh to fly back to Dhaka - crowds of children laughing and waving as we took off. Firstly, though, I must say that I was very thankful (and grateful!) that I was flying back to Dhaka and not travelling in a a rickety bus. This flight took about an hour, sitting on comfortable seats and where the MAF crew look after you, instead of a day (at least) on a very uncomfortable, unsafe, unreliable battered bus!

Back to my mixed emotions - part of me feels quite positive, because although the needs remain enormous and there are still huge challenges - particularly in the Shunderbans area which seems to have been largely forgotten by the world, there is some glimmer of hope and there are a lot of extremely good projects, which are all making small steps in the right direction. But there is also a part of me which, from a personal perspective, feels quite sad and empty at leaving. I've met some wonderful people over the course of the past few days, who've been happy to share their stories and experiences with me - even though I'm a complete stranger to them. People who, despite all the horrors that life could possibly throw at them ie losing their homes, all their possessions and their livelihoods, have survived and worked very hard, with some help, to rebuild their lives to make them better for themselves and their children. These people are quite inspirational!

Yesterday, I spoke to one little boy, aged about 9, at a school I visited, who wanted to become a teacher so he could put something back into the community. It isn't the first time I've heard that sentiment over the past few days - I think its so thoughtful and so encouraging for the future of this country.

The children, generally, are just delightful - they have so very little, but they're so pleased to see visitors and followed us around laughing and giggling. They made me laugh because wherever we went it was the same, staring at me, then whispering in huddles, giggling and then seeing if they could get me to say something. As soon as I said 'hello' - there would be more giggles, more huddles. Then they'd get a bit braver and come a little closer and try talking to me. And if they were really brave, then they would touch me - I did wonder if that was part of a dare, or whether they were just trying to see if I was real!

Anyway, back in Dhaka today, the weather is really very nice, albeit quite hot, and the air is much clearer than it was last week! But the harsh realities of everyday life are all around - I saw a little girl today with the most deformed club foot I think I've ever seen, just sitting on the edge of the very dirty, dusty pavement - the traffic just thundering past, and a man who was literally just skin and bone - I don't have the words to describe how shocking that was - I honestly don't know what was holding him together - and I just felt so utterly helpless.

Today, I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning - the haze that had been around for the few days had disappeared.

We left Khulner this morning, first taking a rick-shaw ride down to the river, which was a nice gentle, although slightly bumpy, way to start the day. Even though it was early, Khulner was already alive with people and traffic [and by traffic I mean rick-shaws and electric rick-shaws].

At the river I, and the other passengers waiting to catch the MAF flight, got on a wooden motor boat, which had seen better days and which had just been washed in river water.

This last point may not seem significant, except that the river is extremely dirty and polluted and, looking at the river bank, I suspect that it is full of sewage!!!

So I sat down rather gingerly on the boat. Anyway, having said that the boat trip down the river to meet the MAF plane was extremely pleasant. There were children on the river banks waving as we went by - I'm getting quite good at doing a 'royal' wave! There were also people washing themselves in the river, people washing clothes in the vast expanse of dirty water, as well as cattle drinking water.

When we arrved at the MAF plane meeting point, there were many armed policemen - which was slightly disconcerting to say the least, until we discovered that they were waiting to meet some people from the UN who were travelling with MAF on the incoming flight.

As we sat on the boat under the shade of a tree waiting, out of the cloudless blue sky a silver shape appeared - it really is an amazing spectacle to watch the MAF plane fly in and land so seemingly effortlessly on the river - a spray of water following behind.

So, within the space of an hour I had gone from travelling in the most basic form of transport to the most sophisticated - its just so surreal.

I'm now in Barisal and have had an extremely full day visiting MAF's partner projects - there are some truly amazing things going on this wonderful country, and I've met yet more dedicated and inspirational people.

I need to collect my thoughts on today, before I travel to the Shunderbans area tomorrow.

- Carolyn

What a day! We stayed in Khulner overnight and have spent the whole day visiting partner projects.

Khulner is the third largest city in Bangladesh after Dakha and Chittagong. It has the largest number of electric cars [tuk-tuks] in Bangladesh. Not sure why. They're quite interesting to travel in - no sides and I clung to one of the roof bars for safety. Best way to describe it is its like travelling on a road in a dodgem!!

Otherwise Khulner is not that dissimilar to Dakha in terms of sights and sounds and smells!

Although there's some very odd statues in the middle of town - giant shrimps! Quite literally!!!

The projects we visited today were just wonderful and truly inspirational - each making a difference to those who are most vulnerable in society.

We went to visit a school and a healthcare project helping Mums and babies. There's far more to these projects than I could possibly write here just now, but amongst all the extreme hardship and heartbreaking stories - I take away from today a message of hope; happy children who've been given the opportunity for a better future, and vulnerable Mums and babies receiving vital help and support.

Well, what a journey we had this morning! Set off for Khulner from Patuakhali by bus - yes one of the battered old buses which I've been watching all week!

What an experience!!! As yesterday, the idea was to show me exactly what its like to travel overland if there's no maf plane.

And I really do get the idea!! The bus became more and more packed along the way. There were people vomitting, spitting etc, people carrying live chickens by their legs. The lady sitting to the side of me was sitting so unnecessarily close that i could not move my leg or foot, despite repeated efforts to get her to move. She then decided to fall asleep on me and her whole body weight then fell on my poor legs!!

Only thing i can say is that she must have felt very comfortable sitting with me bearing in mind that i was a foreigner!

The journey was long, tiring and extremely bumpy. Because of the narrowness and state of disrepair of the roads, someone stood in the doorway to act as extra guide to the bus driver.

Everytime the bus stopped beggars would get on and people selling cucumbers [ready to eat]. There was also the car ferry across the river - all of which takes time.

Anyway, we're now safely in Khulner and ready to meet some of maf's partners.

Although it was a long and tiring journey, what i did get to experience was life in rural Bangladesh. Paddy fields galore interspersed with tin shacks, small villages strewn with litter, and so much water everywhere - makes you realise how vulnerable the country is to the frequent natural disasters and climate change.

Well I'm in the far south today about a mile inland from the Bay of Bengal. We flew down on the MAF float plane this morning. What struck me as we flew over the Bangladeshi countryside is not just how flat it is but even though its not the rainy season just how wet everything is.

But this is what makes MAF unique in Bangladesh is the ability to use that network of waterways to help those who would otherwise be completely isolated. And landing on the water was so smooth!

From the plane we were taken a short distance along the river by a very rickety boat [not sure what was holding the boat together?!] to the jetty and then by motorbike to the first project.

I feel that I'm fast becoming an experienced motorbike rider [but only side-saddle though!]

In fact that was very much the pattern of today visiting one project after another by motorbike. The idea was to show us just how hard it is to travel overland. It worked! The 'roads are pot-holed dirt tracks and in one place the road disappeared so we had to carry the bikes across the gap!

By the end of today I was hot, tired, dirty, and had the obligatory headache! So just in case anyone was in any doubt, MAF is much quicker and less tiring and stressful - definately a 'must' way to travel for our partners.

But today has been amazing. There's so much going on all around all the time, that its very difficult to take in and describe - all the different sights and sounds, the bright colours - oh and smells too, a heady mixture of rotting rubbish and smoke from fires and cooking!

The poverty is extreme - think I only saw one properly constructed home in the whole day. The 'houses' were mainly tin shacks with blue and white plastic sheeting for windows.

I've seen and experienced a whole raft of emotions today - but much of it laughter. From the joy of those waiting on the river bank to see the MAF plane land, to school children who'd prepared a special song for us - I've seen so many smiling faces today - its truely humbling.