About seven years ago, when Eid-ul-Fitra, came quite close to Christmas , and it was interesting to observe the joy of festivities with family and friends and the giving and receiving of gifts. The giving is , of course , related to 'Zakat' by which , as I understand , 2.5% of one's disposable income' (e.g. cash, savings and jewellery) should be given away, once a year, to the extreme poor and orphans. As a foreigner living and working in Bangladesh, I see similarities between Eid and Christmas, such as the family coming together at a special time of the year, special foods, the joy of giving and remenbering those who have very little. My work in 2004 was connected with assisting the very poorest in a Government project, Adarsha Gram, which was assisted by the European Union and provided houses, homesteads and livelihoods to homeless and landless families, particularly those river erosion. Despite the many administrative and bureaucratic difficulties in managing such a project, the experience is enriching as well as humbling. I continue to work with the same category of extreme poor people with the DFID and AusAID supported Chars Livelihoods Programme in the north west of the country.