Dear Daughter

Brenda, a Canadian mother living with chronic kidney disease, was facing a long and uncertain wait for a transplant, until 2013 when her daughter Kielah stepped forward with an extraordinary act of love.
Kielah volunteered to donate a kidney, but when tests revealed she wasn’t a match, she refused to give up. Instead, she entered Canada’s paired exchange programme, donating her kidney to a stranger so that Brenda could receive a compatible one in return.
In a poignant letter for Dear Daughter, Brenda reflects on the “ticking clock” of living with a transplant and her daily gratitude for the daughter whose selflessness saved her life. Now a mother herself, Kielah tells Namulanta Kombo about watching her mum’s decline and why, despite the risks, she didn’t hesitate to give up a kidney to save her mum.
To find out more about Dear Daughter, to take part, or read our privacy notice, please go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter. Or you can contact the team via WhatsApp on +44 800 030 4404.

Namulanta Kombo is collecting letters of advice from around the world, to create a handbook for life for her daughter Koko – and daughters everywhere.
This season, Namulanta speaks to Brenda and Kielah from Canada, who tell her about the extraordinary and life-saving decision Kielah made for her mum.
Ajit from India reflects on the moment he realised just how challenging it is for his daughters to grow up in a male-dominated society.
She also meets Bella, who lives in Dubai, and is raising her daughter born with global development delay. She shares how she’s had to redefine her expectations of parenthood.
Namulanta welcomes her first-ever guest from Japan as Tamaki describes her daughter’s Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day).
In 2010, Ann from Florida, USA was shot and killed by her boyfriend. Ann’s mother, Kate, shares an astonishing and deeply moving letter to her daughter.
This series, we’ll even hear some ‘Dear Son’ letters, and we’ll be catching up with some of our guests from previous seasons. Expect thoughtful conversations, brilliant advice, laughter, wisdom and tears.
And we’d love to hear from you! Send us your letter for your daughter, or a daughter figure in your life…or, for this season, a son! Email [email protected] or visit www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter to find out more.
You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice

Shelley’s daughter leaves for college – it’s a thrilling moment for everyone, but at the same time there’s a sense of loss. What will happen to their family when one piece of it is missing?
So Shelley writes her daughter a letter with all the advice and memories she wants her to take as she heads off on her new adventure. She hides it in her daughter’s suitcase to find when she gets there.
And then she shares it with Dear Daughter! She tells Namulanta about keeping in touch, staying connected – and the surprising upsides of your child leaving home. Plus Namulanta and her daughter Koko reflect on what it’ll be like when Koko leaves home one day.
Letter writer: Shelley

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a WhatsApp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter

Paola’s daughter Camilla was beautiful, with curly hair and big eyes like her mother. She loved bath time and eating mangoes. But she also had a severe mental and physical disability, and died aged 15 after nearly two years of palliative care.
Paola listened to Dear Daughter while she was in the hospital with Cami – and now she writes a letter of her own. She tells Namulanta about the joy her daughter brought into her life, and how she’s dealing with her grief.
Letter writer: Paola

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a WhatsApp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter

Annice Mukherjee is a hormone expert – she’s spent her career helping women deal with menopause. But when she develops breast cancer at 41, she becomes a patient rather than a doctor.
Annice writes a letter to her daughter about how her professional experience helped her deal with her personal health challenge, and about how her daughter can take control of her own hormone health.
She tells Namulanta that there’s more conversation around menopause than ever before - thanks to social media - but not all the information out there is reliable. Annice has practical advice for women on how to manage their hormone related symptoms, and tells her daughter’s generation not to fear menopause.
Letter writer: Annice

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter