Photographer Angela Stewart travelled with Steve Blacket to Bangladesh in September 2014. Angela visited COCOA partner, the Bandarban Hills Churches of Christ Hostel:

“Part of our time was spent in Bandarban Hills in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and I was delighted to spend some time with local Churches of Christ minister Vana Bawm and his family. One of the most memorable experiences of my trip was meeting the 33 children living in the GMP hostel in Bandarban. Prior to the staff taking us on a tour of this simple, yet immaculate home, we were honoured with a formal speech by Benjamin, the head of the students, and we were presented with beautiful little silver plated dishes with our names printed on them. This is something I will treasure for a lifetime. They may have treated us like VIP’s, but it was the children themselves who are extra special as far as I am concerned, as are the wonderful people who care for them every day. It was a brief visit that went all too quickly, and I would love to go back someday to spend more time with them, to sit, chat and listen to their hopes and dreams for the future. A future so much brighter because they have been blessed with a safe place to live while they attend school and gain a valuable education”.

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