Bangladesh is part of the Indian subcontinent. The country takes up the delta of both the river Ganges (Padma) and the river Brahmaputra. Bangladesh is five times the Netherlands and has ca 140 million people.
It is a muslimcountry (90%) next to Hindus (9%) and 1% other believers (Christians and Buddhists).
The capital is Dhaka with ca 13 million inhabitants. Dhaka is the administrative centre of Bangladesh. Everything happens here and all important organisations, government, businesses, embassies etc. are located in Dhaka.

50 to 70% of the country is flooded during the rainy season (June – September). When the water has disappeared in November, a tiny layer of soil stays behind, which forms a fertile soil for growing rice.
Sometimes it goes wrong and then not only the agricultural area is flooded over but also the living area of the local people. Moreover, Bangladesh is swept by disasters such as hurricanes, harmed by the all present corruption and by the climate.

The population is very friendly. The best time to visit the country is November – February.

Aloshika is a locval NGO (alo = light and shika = candle), in other words the light which leads the way out off the darkness.
BVDO (Barisal Village development Center) is a much smaller NGO.
The two organisations, which are active in the South of Bangladesh - mainly in the district of Barisal -, are christian organisations in a mainly hindu surrounding in a muslim country.
The various communities live together in peace.

Especially in this area people are extremely poor; 50% of the population live under the poverty line ( i.e. US $ 2,00 per day). From this group again 50% is even far below this line ( US $ 1,00 per day).

The working area of Aloshika is 300 square km. and 100.000 people can be reached. Aloshika is located is the village of Rajihar.

Kenya (officially Jamhuri ya Kenya; English: Republic of Kenya) is a presidential republic in East-Africa. It is a member of the Commonwealth of nations. Kenya belongs to the Horn of Africa just as Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Kenya is situated on the equator. Its surface is 582.646 square kilometer. So it is 14x as big as the Netherlands.

The number of inhabitants (total of 30 million) between 0 – 14 years old is 43% (the Netherlands 18%), between 15 and 64 years of age 54% (the Netherlands 68%) and the number of senior citizens is 3% (the Netherlands 14%).
Birthrate and deathrate (2000) are 29 and 14 respectively. In 2000 the number of deaths in the first year of life was nearly 69 per 1000 births.

The population is very diverse. There are many ethnic groups. The biggest group is the Kikuyus (22%) followed by the Luhya (14%), Luo (13%), Kalenjin (12%),Kamba (11%), Kisii (6%), Meru (6%), other African groups (15%).
A small minority(1%) are non-African groups (Europeans, Asians and Arabs).

Protestants 45%, Roman Catholics 33%, Moslem 10%, native religious 10% and other 2%.

The main means of existence is: export of coffee and tea,; besides tourism to national parks and game reserves.

• Nepal is situated between India and Tibet. The capital is Kathmandu.
• Nepal has a literacy rate of 45%. 42% are unemployed.
• There are numerous ethnic groups; the main religions are Hinduism and Buddhism.
• 2.6 million children are forced to work for their own survival.
• Nepal is one of the world’s ten poorest nations.
• Nepal is just over half the size of the UK with a population of 29 million.
• The people are warm, gentle and generous of spirit. The poorest are willing to share what little they have.
• Children under 16 represent 40% of the population with 40% of these receiving no education.
  Nepal is a land of great beauty, charm and diversity.
• Nepal has eight of the world’s highest mountains, including Mount Everest.
• Life expectancy is 59 years and one in five children die before they reach the age of five.
  Tourism is the main source of income with wonderful tracking opportunities.
• For the past 12 years there has been increasing political unrest with corruption and conflict between the government, monarchy and the Maoist insurgents which have taken its toll on the people of Nepal. In 2008 Nepal became a republic.
• Health and education are not guaranteed, especially out of the cities. Many people living outside the capital live a hand to mouth existence and farm the land to survive.
• More information about Nepal: http://www.nepal.com

The Spiti valley is situated in the province of Himachal Pradesh in the North of India, off the border of Tibet. Many Tibetans live in Spiti. The main religion is Budhism.
The number of inhabitants is ca 34.000 living on a surface of about 1/3 of the Netherlands. The annual income per capita in 2004 was about € 195.
This area has only become accessible for foreign visitors since 1992. The valley is situated on a height of 3.700 m. in the Himalaya.

Spiti has a very dry climate; it hardly ever rains. Agriculture activities are mainly carried out along the riverside, where water is streaming throughout the year. It is a remote area, which is rather difficult accessible. There are only two access roads of which one is mostly closed off in winter.

From the capital Kaza it takes you one full day journey to the nearest big city Manali (200 km.). The medical care in this area is very poor; there is only one small hospital in the whole valley where patients can be hospitalized. However, no operations can take place in this hospital and there are only very limited possibilities of laboratory research.
The nearest and more equipped hospital is located in Menali.

The Munselling school is the operating base for the MCC missions. This school has been established by the sister of the Dalai Lama with the purpose to improve the level of education and also to maintain the traditional culture of the local people.
Both the resident and the non-resident school kids have been medically checked during the first two missions to this valley in 2006 and 2007.
In the meantime a group of Canadian doctors and medical students will visit the school, while MCC will medically check the children in the surrounding villages.