Christmas in Scotland

i

Kakoli Khatun helps other members of her group to use e-commerce platforms to further expand their business. Credit: Fabeha Monir / Christian Aid

In Bangladesh, an extraordinary group of gifted women artisans and entrepreneurs are embracing new technology, to revive ancient art forms, craft beautiful beadwork, or make colourful clothing, to sell online.

Life is challenging in Kurigram, Northern Bangladesh – one of the most disaster-prone areas of the country. The climate crisis hits people hard. And for women, opportunities are even more limited, with societal norms to marry young, and little scope for study or future work.

Girls as young as 13 are preparing for marriage. Your help helped their future look very different.

Advent Prayer by Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton

‘She wrapped him in swaddling bands and laid him in a manger.’ Luke 2:7

Many historians refer to swaddling bands as being carefully crafted, embroidered with symbols, family history and genealogy. Not random strips of leftover cloths, these were a sign of love, of protection, of belonging.

God, you wrap yourself around your creation and your children, like swaddling bands. Your creative imagination dances across every life, the breath of your divine spirit draws out our songs and stories. As we wait with pregnant expectation, we do not do so passively, but with an audacious hope. May we craft and create a world that welcomes all your children into our one global family, that embraces, comforts, warms and welcomes. This Advent/Christmas we pray for the work of Aid Comilla, our partners in Bangladesh. They empower, train and support women to create businesses that sustain and inspire. Like swaddling bands, Nakshi Kantha blankets are beautifully crafted signs of love, of protection, of belonging. This Christmas, they represent a gift to their communities. God bless them. God call us together and wrap us well.

Amen