　We visited the school that had been founded by Akkram Muhammed, his father and his brother five years ago. Akkram now lives in Tokyo and is a Friendship Member of Bangladesh. He was a student of the Japanese language course at the Meguro UNESCO Association. Although the trip was a private one, we delivered the T-shirts and notebooks contributed by Members, and brought back the pictures we had asked them to paint for the UNESCO Art Exhibition held in November. The donated T-shirts, which numbered about 60, were not enough for 300 children, so we got additional T-shirts there using the money donated for Bangladesh and the budget for activities.

　The village is located in the countryside, three hours by car from the capital, Dacca. It takes just 5 to 6 minutes to walk to the school from Akkram's house where we stayed. We were the first Japanese to have ever visited the village, so whenever we walked outside, we were followed by children and surrounded at a distance by adults who stared at us with curiosity. At the school, we saw a beautiful arch painted with the words "Meguro UNESCO" and children lined up on both sides of the street 4 or 5 metres in front of the arch. Many parents gathered at the yard where a reception was held. We had mixed feelings of surprise and bewilderment when we saw the children singing the Koran in unison and dancing.

　The single-storey school building with a tin roof and small windows was divided by walls into several classrooms. It was as hot as a sauna bath. Most children aged 6 to 10 walk one to three kilometres to school, where there are sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Although 300 students attend school, there are neither wells nor toilets. I wonder if they are concerned about the hygiene issues in such a high temperature. I thought how helpful it would be if we could help in supplying them with tap water and toilets.

　The Koran reaching my ears at 5 a.m. made us feel pious even though we are not Muslims. In a country twice as large as Hokkaido live more than 120 million people. The chief industries are rice and jute. People use trucks and buses rather than rail for transportation and I was grateful that the national roads I drove along for three hours, were paved all the way from Dacca. The further into the countryside we went, the more beautiful

landscape became with green trees hanging over the road like arches. All around we saw ponds, rivers and lakes caused by the poorly drained clay soil. We also found people fishing from boats. Strangely enough, there were few houses in sight. We passed small villages thinly scattered where only men could be seen, hanging around shops that looked like street stalls. It seems that they cannot find a job even if they want to

　I am sure we experienced a lot of things that would not have been possible had there been just two of us. I appreciate the efforts Akkram made for us, and I am also grateful to his family.　　　　　 -Hashimoto-

　Time passes slowly. School age is 6, but some students are 4 or 5 years old since the school takes in everyone who wants to attend. Akkram's brothers and relatives came to his house to welcome us, who had come from a distant country. People who used to work as their maids came to prepare a meal. The sight reminded me of the old times with nostalgia.

　Now, few houses are supplied with electricity or tap water, but one day, televisions, personal computers and so on, will arrive and allow them to see the rest of the world, bring a desire to improve their circumstances and

compete with other people, which will change their lives. What is assistance? I cannot find a conclusive answer.　　　　　　　　　　　　　-Katsuoka-