Dear Daughter

Throughout August, the Lives Less Ordinary podcast is sharing extraordinary love stories from around the world. To listen to the season, search ‘Lives Less Ordinary’ wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
In this episode: in the 1970s, Mark arrived in the UK from the Bahamas and fell in love with a woman called Penny. For Penny, it felt like the beginning of everything- until, without warning, Mark broke things off and disappeared from her life.
Devastated and searching for answers, Penny spent decades believing she was to blame, carrying that loss into the rest of her life and never quite finding the happiness she once imagined. Nearly forty years later, a message out of the blue from Mark brought them back into contact, and with it, revealed the sad truth about what drove them apart.
This programme contains references to suicide. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, you can find support at befrienders.org
Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.

What shapes a father’s determination to educate his daughters?
In South Sudan, Marco tells Namulanta Kombo why making sure his four daughters go to school matters so deeply to him, carrying forward a value passed down by his own mother, who even sold precious family cows to keep him in school.
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.

Fleur lives in Singapore. She tells Namulanta Kombo about adopting her daughter after years of fertility treatment, and the moment her life changed with just 24 hours’ notice. Now, the family celebrate her adoption day each year.
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.

From Jakarta, Indonesia, Yasmina writes a ‘Dear Son’ letter to her teenage son about growing up in a changing world.
Yasmina set up a grassroots climate project for families after becoming increasingly worried about the impact of environmental change on her children.
She tells Namulanta Kombo about her own childhood, why she wants her children to understand the environment, and the everyday choices her family makes at home.
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.

Skiers Sarah and Lasse made history as the first mother and son duo to compete at the same Winter Olympic Games, representing the Mexican team together.
For Sarah, it was never just about medals. In this ‘Dear Son’ episode, she tells Namulanta Kombo about everything that went into getting there: the travel, the long training sessions, the sacrifices, and the determination it took to keep going as both an athlete and a mum.
She also opens up about what it was like juggling those two roles, raising Lasse while still chasing her own dreams, and the balance between supporting him, encouraging him to aim high, and knowing when to step back and let him find his own path.
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.