A journey to India and Bangladesh

The next summer I went to India for 9 days and to Bangladesh for another week. During that trip I was only with the people from the local organisations (my dad was at his own meetings in different cities). We visited many different villages, but each time the people were very kind and let me in to their homes, have lunch at talk. One specific memory comes back all the time when I think about this trip, it was when I drove with my "guide" though the different villages on him motorcycle. Each time children would come to me and run behind the motorcycle shouting and laughing. The fact that I was alone there, made it more interesting and I lived just like the people there, which allowed me to really connect with the people and understand what they were going through. It was a real cultural shock and very destabilizing, but I was very happy to be there. During both trips I was pleased to see that everyone had access to proper water and sanitation thanks to the huge efforts that have been done in these areas.

What touched me most during these 2 weeks was first of all the kindness and generosity with which the Indians and Bangladeshi treated me. I was also touched by the extreme poverty some people lived in, which made me wonder about the world, about capitalism, about multinationals, about globalisation etc. But this also showed me that there is hope with all the progress I saw and how happy the people actually were. When I was home again, I realized how important it is to share. Money makes us egoistic, in India and Bangladesh the people shared a lot, despite their poverty.

If I had to define de philosophy of my life it would be; Never stop learning, follow your dreams and don't give up, but most importantly: Enjoy life!