Because of you! What a fantastic end to our Ramadan Fundraising Campaign! We are totally overwhelmed by your generosity. You gave with your heart and made us not only reach but exceed our goal! A Thank You is not enough but we want you to know how much of a difference you have made in the lives of countless people. Keep in touch for the remaining year to witness the change you have engendered with your support. And thank you- again!

OBAT Think Tanks Step Forward to Help the most Deserving The camp residents greeted the holy month of Ramadan very differently this year. Due to the lockdown and a fixed income, it was very difficult for them to have access to food for Iftar. OBAT’s Think Tank volunteers undertook initiatives to help those most in need during Ramadan. Following are some of the activities each city’s Think Tank conducted: • Dhaka: The Think Tank in Dhaka collected money from their senior team members. They then conducted a survey and found twenty families in different camps who were most deserving and distributed food packages among these families. The package consisted of 5 kg of rice, 1 L of oil, 1 kg of onions, 1 kg of potatoes, 1 kg of salt and 1 kg of pulses. • Bogra: In Bogra, the Think Tank members distributed Iftar items to the needy and elderly people among the camps during the entire month of Ramadan • Rangpur: The Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur organized the distribution of Iftar (food items for breaking the Ramadan fast) to poor families in Rangpur City on May 1st. The areas included Muslimpara, Salphate Camp and Riwaye Colony. Think Tank members and Scouts from OBAT’s Rangpur School joined hands to help in the distribution. They also distributed iftar among approximately 600 poor families and arranged an iftar for 120 poor and widowed women. The volunteers undertook all preventive measures with regards to social distancing. • Chittagong: Think Tank Members, teachers and the management team distributed Iftar to needy people in Jhautala in the Chittagong area. 45 people received Iftar from Think Tank members everyday.  • Khulna: During the holy month of Ramadan, Khulna Think Tank team distributed food and essential items to the most deserving people in the area.  • Syedpur: OBAT’s Syedpur Think Tank team is working with the Syedpur United Volunteers Association (SUVA), which is a group of all the volunteer teams in Syedpur. They distributed about 1,500 masks, hand sanitizers, and soap bars. The Think Tank also participated in packaging and distributing about 800 food packages to the poor people in Syedpur.  Congratulations to our Think Tank members in all cities for demonstrating their solidarity in these difficult times and for maintaining all security measures while helping those who need it most.

Amdani Family Foundation Sponsors Ramadan Food Distribution for 3,637 families! Thousands of families have been helped through OBAT’s Ramadan Food Distribution Program that takes place in the camps during the holy month every year. The food packages that are distributed consist of staples such as rice, lentils, vermicelli, oil, flour etc. This year, the food distribution was sponsored by the generosity of the Amdani Family Foundation. 3,637 families across the cities of Dhaka, Chittagong, Rangpur, Syedpur, Khulna, Bogra and Mymensingh, received a special Ramadan food package that consisted of 8 kg of rice, 1 kg of lentils, 1 liter of soy bean oil, 2 kg of potatoes, 200 grams of lacchi, 1 kg of chickpeas, 1 tin of milk and 1 kg of sugar. Thank you to the Amdanis for providing food relief to the deserving.

Mourning the loss of Mr. Barkati We are extremely saddened to share the news of the passing of Mr. Zakwan Barkati. Since the inception of OBAT, Mr. Barkati was its anchoring force, tirelessly volunteering his time to make the lives of those less fortunate better. Many of our visitors from the US experienced his genuine hospitality and gentle demeanor. Without his support, it would have been impossible to establish and manage the organization. He always gave what he could and distributed love, respect and care to all those around him. He was quietly helping many individuals and families who were suffering in the camps. Mr. Barkati will always be remembered as a loving guardian for OBAT's youth and a big brother for its team. OBAT will never be the same without him.

OBAT Goes Live for the First Time! Those who watched it were left inspired, amazed and overcome by the power of opportunity. For the first time OBAT held a live event on May 17 th . Three of OBAT’s stars- students whose lives were transformed because of the opportunity and tools you gave them to lift themselves out of poverty, participated in this event from Bangladesh. The event was an initiative of OBAT's advisor and supporter from Seattle, Mr. Rizwan Samad who also spoke about how his recent visit to the camps proved to be life changing for him. Thank you to all the generous friends who extended their support during and after the event. If you missed it, you can watch it here (insert link: https://obathelpers.org/ramadan-live/ ). To get to the best part, skip to the 37:07 minute mark! Thank you for participating and creating these young Champions of Change who will now be leading thousands of children out of poverty with their shining examples!

Some Eid Cheer in Khulna and Syedpur The festival of Eid follows the month of Ramadan which the camp residents have spent fasting. Eid is an occasion to celebrate with friends and family, eat treats, wear new clothes and be joyful. A celebration is not really possible for the camp residents as they struggle to fulfill their basic needs on a daily basis. Our Think Tank once again took it upon themselves to spread some Eid cheer.  In Syedpur, thanks to locally collected donations, a total of 40 people received Eid gifts from the local Think Tank.  In the city of Khulna, the Think Tank members collected their Zakat (obligatory religious contributions) and bought clothes for the most deserving kids.  We are so proud of the young Think Tank members for taking initiatives to help their own community members!

Heartening Updates from the Rohingya Project This Eid (Festival of Eid is also observed by Rohingya refugees), OBAT facilitated a large food distribution in the Rohingya Camp, thanks to generous donations from partner organization, Refugee Crisis Foundation. Hundreds of Rohingya families benefitted from food packages that will last each family a couple of weeks. Food packages were also gifted by Mr. Fayyaz Haathia who has previously visited and volunteerd in our Rohingya program. OBAT is also continuing to assist and support Rohingya refugees in the Kutupalong Camp on a daily basis, providing emergency healthcare services at its Health Post. All other projects in the camp have been halted by the Bangladesh Government, as Bangladesh entered a lockdown in March. Our Learning Centers are moving toward home-based learning, facilitated by the Education Sector that oversees the work of all nonprofits working in the refugee camp. With the confirmation of COVID-19 in the Rohingya Camp, our clinic team, which enters the camp each day, is ensuring they are maintaining the highest standards of disease prevention and wears extensive personal protective equipment. Our Ukhiya-based office team is continuing to work safely in isolation. We are monitoring the situation as it develops and acting according to the advice of the Bangladesh Government, the World Health Organization, and relevant camp authorities. Due to the severity of the situation, and the lockdown that Bangladesh entered into in late March, the decision was made by the Bangladesh Government and camp authorities in April to suspend all projects in the Rohingya Camp, except for emergency healthcare services and essential food aid delivery. We are so proud of the medical team and praise their efforts for working in the field during these challenging times. During May, our medical team has been working hard all through Ramadan with health partners, RCF and MedGlobal to provide emergency medical treatment to the Rohingya population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the changes mandated by the Health Sector, an average of 50 patients a day were treated at the Health Center during May.

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