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BBC World Service

Extraordinary letters written from parents to their children with Namulanta Kombo. Sharing 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 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice

Dear Daughter

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

Leaving for college

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

Grieving you

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

Don’t fear menopause

Azola’s friends welcomed him to fatherhood with a surprise baby shower, called a nappy braai. Instead of the chilled Saturday barbecue he was expecting, they handed him a beer and an adult nappy and told him to suit up.

Azola thinks it’s important to mark milestones. When he was born in South Africa in 1990, the country was just emerging from apartheid. Families didn’t talk openly about their hopes and dreams because life was so uncertain, so he wants to be intentional about celebrating big moments in his children’s lives.

He tells Namulanta how he founded an organisation called Black Dads Unplugged – with the motto “active fatherhood is the new black”. They are part of a new generation of South African dads trying to do things differently.

Letter writer: Azola
 
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

The nappy braai

Listener Julia writes a letter to her future daughter with some advice from her own life: if a man ever hits you, walk away the first time.
 
When her ex-boyfriend slapped her in the face, he said he was sorry and he would never do it again. But then things started getting worse.
 
She tells Namulanta how she finally got out of her abusive relationship and rebuilt her life – and what she wants other people in similar situations to know. Plus, she advises other people on what they can do if they suspect someone they love is experiencing domestic violence.

Letter writer: Julia
 
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

Walk away the first time

Malaka’s written her first book – it’s a romance novel with a lot of sex scenes. How will her family react?

Malaka Grant published her first romance novel in 2013 – she’d been writing about sex and romance under a pseudonym for years, but she’d decided to come out of the shadows. She writes a letter to her daughters about what happened when her father in law brought her book out at Christmas brunch. 

Malaka runs a blog and podcast called Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women with Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah. It’s a space for Africa women to write about their experiences of sex and sexuality. She shares some advice for aspiring writers on staying true to their own voice. 

But Malaka’s husband is a pastor. She tells Namulanta how they balance their different approaches to life while staying on the same path. 

Letter writer: Malaka 

This episode contains adult themes.

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

The sexy novel at Christmas brunch

Firyal and her daughter were asleep when the Yemeni civil war reached their town in 2014. They woke up to the sound of bombs overhead – Firyal was terrified, but her daughter was looking at her for reassurance. What should she say?

Together, they fled their home. It was the start of a long journey, moving from place to place in search of safety and new opportunities. And Firyal is a single parent – the responsibility is all on her shoulders.

Firyal tells Namulanta about their new life in Malaysia, about the challenges of single motherhood in different places, and what she hopes for her daughter’s future.

Letter writer: Firyal
 
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

Bombs overhead

Every year Norwegian high school graduates paint the town red for “russefeiring”. It’s a month long period of intense partying to celebrate the end of high school – students buy party buses, wear matching overalls and dare each other to stay up all night or kiss a policeman. And it all happens right before they take their exams…
 
Anja’s daughter went through russ last year. Anja didn’t sleep much during that month, because she was worried that her daughter might drink too much or get into trouble.
 
But when she looks back at her own russ experience, she remembers how much fun she had. She made friends for life, and it was an important milestone on the way to adulthood.
 
How can Anja help her daughter balance being responsible with having fun?
 
Letter writer: Anja
 
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

Advice for partying

When Vandana’s marriage ended in divorce, she felt stigmatised and outcast. After a long and turbulent legal process, she ended up retraining as a divorce lawyer and setting up a group for others who felt unable to talk about the breakdown of their marriages.

In the process, she found out what was really happening inside the marriages of many Indian women. She’s since remarried and has twin sons but she wants to tell the daughters of India that they have choices, and that no-one needs to stay in a bad marriage.

Letter writer: Vandana

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 www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter

Divorce is not a dirty word

Rahab went to prison when her children were little. She’d been taking part in carjackings and armed robberies. Once she got caught, she spent six years at Langata women’s prison in Nairobi, Kenya. 

While she was in prison, she managed to turn her life around – but how can she rebuild her relationship with her three children, and make up for the time she missed?

Namulanta visits Langata to meet Rahab and finds out what life is like for current inmates who have children.

Letter writer: Rahab

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 www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter

Audio for this episode was updated on 20 May 2025.

Prison and parenthood

The 'Queen of Letters', Isabel Allende, on writing, processing grief and a full garage. The best-selling author wrote to her late daughter, Paula, when she was in a coma. She then turned the letters into a book. She says writing “allowed me to understand what had happened and deal with it”. Isabel has a garage full of her daily correspondence with her own mother. Her novels include The House of the Spirits, City of the Beasts and Eva Luna. 
Letter writer: Isabel Allende
Isabel is reading an extract from her book Paula.
Please send Namulanta your letter. Go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”.
#DearDaughter

Healing letters

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