As a child, Yeiwah was forced to leave Sierra Leone, growing up far from the country she has always called home. Years later, after becoming a mother, she returns with her young daughter, determined to give her what she never had: confidence and a strong sense of self.

Yeiwah tells Namulanta Kombo that being bullied as a child left a lasting impact, making her fiercely protective of her daughter’s self-belief. She leads by example, embracing joy through singing and dancing, even when it leaves her daughter cringing with embarrassment, in the hope of raising a child who is unafraid to be seen.

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.

Emma, who is from Denmark, grew up with openness about her donor conception from the very start. When she was a baby, her parents wrote her a letter explaining how she came into the world, putting it inside a children’s book they made especially for her.

Emma and her mother Ida tell Namulanta Kombo about that decision to share the story early — what it meant for Emma as she was growing up, how their understanding has shifted over time, and what openness around donor conception looks like.

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

How far would you go to help your child achieve their dreams?

Corne drove the family tractor across South Africa to raise money so her daughter, Marconette, could represent her country at the World Tug of War Championships in Switzerland.

She and Marconette tell Namulanta Kombo how the extraordinary idea was born, and how the journey had the unexpected consequence of bringing communities together along the way.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When 19-year-old Ann from Florida, USA was shot by her boyfriend in 2010, her family were thrust into a nightmare, one that meant taking the agonising decision to withdraw her life support.

In this intensely moving account of violence and loss, Ann’s mother, Kate, tells Namulanta that instead of pursuing the traditional court process, she chose something almost unheard of at the time - restorative justice. Sitting face to face with the man who killed her daughter she entered a process that allowed her to shape his sentence and speak openly about the impact of Ann’s death.

In her highly emotional letter to Ann for Dear Daughter, Kate reveals an extraordinary decision—one that will stay with you long after her story ends. 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.

Ajit, a dad from India, tells Namulanta about realising just how tough the world can be for his daughters as they grow up in a male dominated society.

He’s funny, honest and totally unfiltered as he talks about being on a huge learning curve as a ‘girl dad’, and admits that parenting is far harder than any management job he’s ever had.

And the conversation ends with a very emotional moment, as Ajit reveals how he discovered what truly matters in his life.

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.

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.