Lejla was born as a result of sexual violence during the Bosnian war. Adopted as a baby, she grew up in the UK. In this episode, she shares her difficult origin story with Namulanta Kombo. It’s a powerful journey marked by resilience, but also moments of deep pain. This isn’t a typical Dear Daughter story. This time, the daughter is the one writing. Lejla has written a moving letter to her birth mother, hoping it will help others understand where she comes from and what she carries with her. 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.
A mother of many
10/04/2026 | 18 mins.
Anita from Singapore is a mother whose first fostering experience didn’t go to plan, but she was encouraged to try again. Twenty-three years on, she has opened her heart and home to 28 foster children. She tells Namulanta Kombo about the difficult moments, and the joy and purpose she’s found in giving children a safe, loving place to grow. 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.
Reaching milestones
03/04/2026 | 18 mins.
Bella is originally from the UK but now lives in Dubai, where she is raising her daughter who was born with global developmental delay. She tells Namulanta Kombo that her journey into parenthood has looked very different from what she once imagined, and she’s had to reshape her expectations around milestones, progress, and what ‘typical’ development means. One of the most powerful moments she shares is the day her daughter took her very first steps. They came later than they do for most children, but for Bella, that made the moment even more extraordinary. It wasn’t just a step, it was a symbol of patience, resilience, and hope. 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.
What makes a man?
27/03/2026 | 18 mins.
Did you ever look at your life and think you’d never end up here, raising children you once couldn’t imagine having? Namulanta Kombo catches up with her old Kenyan school friend, Fiona. When they were teenagers, having children felt like something far off in the future. But life moves on, and now they both have sons who are the same age. This episode is the first of a few Dear Son conversations within this series. It’s a gentle shift from Namulanta’s usual Dear Daughter letters. She and Fiona talk about what it’s been like to raise boys, the memories they carry from their own childhoods, and the futures they hope their sons will grow into. Their chat leads them to a simple but big question: What makes a man? 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.
Keeping traditions
20/03/2026 | 18 mins.
Tamaki talks about her daughter’s Seijin no Hi, Japan’s Coming of Age Day, the annual January celebration for young adults in the country who have turned 20 years old in the past year. In a letter to her daughter, she looks back on the day and everything it brought with it: the excitement, the realisation that her daughter is stepping into adulthood, and the beautiful kimono that her daughter wore. Tamaki tells Namulanta Kombo that even though she never attended her own coming-of-age ceremony, she is keen to make sure her children, even while growing up abroad, still feel connected to the traditions she loves. 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.
Extraordinary letters written from parents to their children with Namulanta Kombo. Sharing amazing real-life experiences, parenting advice, family stories and life lessons. 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 unbelievable true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising children. 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter. You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice
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