ASPIRE
Your Monthly News & Updates
April 2017
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Lots of good stuff is happening at OBAT and you are behind it!
Aspire is now being released monthly to keep you informed of the never-ending good news and the impact you are making.
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OBAT leads a youth summit
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Participants sharing their ideas to solve literacy problem by opening a coaching center in their area. Right: Immad Ahmed
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At the "National Minority and Indigenous Youth Leadership Summit," Executive Director of OBAT Helpers,
Immad Ahmed,
taug
ht a session on project management, project proposal and human centered design. The aim of these is to solve problems for multi-ethnic communities such as, Garo, Shawtal, Marma, Rohingya, Chakma, Mahato, Rishi, Uraow and the Urdu speaking community. Those in attendance, were from different cities in Bangladesh: Chittagong, Saidpur, Bandarban, Rangamati and others. We are thankful to the "Ahmad Family Foundation " and to the "Council of Minorities" for organizing this workshop. A special thanks to
Khalid Hussain
for inviting us and creating an inclusive and interactive atmosphere for the workshop.
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Children getting tested during campaign
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Collaborative health campaign with Lion's Club
A health check up campaign was organized by OBAT, Chittagong, during the month of March.
The check up included an eye test, blood and diabetes test and was held for the students of OBAT's SB Nagar School. We are very thankful to the Lions Club of Chittagong who collaborated with us for this campaign.
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Participants from the Rangpur school
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International Women's Day observed in the camps
OBAT's Khulna team arranged a program to observe the International Women's Day. Students from OBAT's IT Center, Sewing and Embroidery Training Centers attended the program. Teachers from OBAT's Preschool also joined the program. Guest speakers spoke about the rights of women and the importance and relevance of the day.
A similar program was also organized at OBAT's Rangpur School. School teachers, project officers, staff and some parents participated, delivered speeches and heard a motivational speech given by the guest speaker.
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New building gets inaugrated
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Chief guests enjoy student performances
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On March 7th, OBAT Chittagong held
the inauguration
ceremony of L-93, a new building in SB Nagar camp. A room of the new building
will be used for the office and computer training center and three other rooms will be used for a preschool and an elementary school that will run in two shifts
. The inauguration festivities included a cultural program, prize distribution of annual sports and distribution of the crest award for students attaining a 5.0 GPA. Several notable government officials were present as guests. Representatives from other local nonprofit groups also attended. The event was attended by many camp residents as well. OBAT's students performed hyms and other national songs and also held theater and dance performances which drew admiration and praise from the chief guest, an ex-mayor of Chittagong. He commented that through their performances, the camp children demonstrated how to love their county, community and environment. He gifted one thousand Takas to the best performers and 5.0 GPA students. The students and camp community were very happy with his announcement that he would be willing to provide all kinds of support to OBAT in the future.
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The students taking the exam
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Education for Working Children and Adult Literacy Program
The Education for Working Children Program has filled a deep void in the literacy level in the camps. Several illiterate adults and young kids who cannot attend school due to the need for a supplemental income, can now take basic literacy courses and learn to read and write. During March, the group took their Math and English exams. At present, this program is being offered in two locations in Mirpur and Dhaka and over a hundred students are enrolled.
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Free dental exams for OBAT's BLS School students
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Group of dentists participating in the dental camp
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A dental check up camp was recently organized by Muslim Aid
with the collaboration of Dhaka Comarse College's dental unit for OBAT's BLS School in Dhaka. Two hundred students received a free dental exam.
Professional doctors along with medical students conducted the exams and found some critical issues among the students. These students were sent to the Dental Hospital for further treatment which will be extended free of cost.
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L to R: Syed Imam, Zamir Ahmad, David Gelios & Anwar Khan
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OBAT gets invited to Michigan event
OBAT participated in an International Women's Day event held by the Pakistani Women Association of Michigan on March 11th by hosting an information booth. In attendance, were several notable personalities including, Mr. Abdul who is running for Governor of MI as well as Mr. David Gelios, Special Agent, FBI from Detroit field office. The guests took a keen interest in the plight of the camp residents and the role played by OBAT in addressing the situation.
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Special guests, teachers and students cut a cake to celebrate.
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National Children's Day observed in Chittagong
National Children's Day is observed on March 17th in Bangladesh.
Among the cities served by OBAT, Chittagong observed the day through a c
ultural program, art contest and poetry recitation performances by the students.The program was specially organized for preschool children. Several notable guests from the community attended the program.
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The three collaborating groups with the camp residents
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Joint survey conducted for helping special needs kids
On March 10th, three groups, comprising of ambitious and competent youth,
collaboratively organized a survey for special needs children in different camps. The three groups included OBAT's own Think Tank group, the IFMSA (The International Federation of Medical Students Association) and the BMSS (Bangladesh Medical Students' Society). The camps covered included, Geneva Camp, Market Camp, Town Hall Camp, Staff Quarter and Community Relief Camp. About one hundred and five children
were identified as suffering from disabilities, ranging from speech and developmental delays to epilepsy and autism.
The groups are looking forward to helping these kids through an awareness program for their parents, check ups, and providing them with guidelines and further assistance.
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Mr. Khan receives the award
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Project Manager, Sohail Khan, is awarded for his dedication
Mr. Sohail Akhter Khan, OBAT's Project Manager in Bangladesh, recently received the CREST award from the team.CREST is awarded by OBAT for special accomplishments and achievements.
Mr. Khan's long time, vast and invaluable contribution toward's OBAT's education sector and his utmost dedication to translating OBAT's objectives into concrete actions, is highly impressive. Many special guests attended: Mr. Mosharraf Hossain, Deputy Director,
Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College;
Dr. Md Mosleuddin, Professor Marine Science and Fisheries, Chittagong University; and Mr. Amdul Karim Saikat, President International Human Rights Organization, Chittagong division. Our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Sohail Khan on this great honor!
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Rangpur School girls at the national parade program
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B
angladesh Independence Day is celebrated
The independence day of Bangladesh is celebrated especially in OBAT's education projects, with great fanfare. This year,
on the independence day,
Rangpur's OBAT School students participated in a national parade program at Rangpur Stadium. The students brought out a rally and
participated in a drawing
competition.
In Khulna,
OBAT's Primary School, Preschool and Tutoring Center arranged a wonderful rally as well. All the students, teachers and staff attended and enjoyed the program.
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Upcoming events!
* Annual ISNA Iftar- June 4th 2017 at ISNA headquarters, Indianapolis.
* OBAT's Friends of Dallas event- Hosted by Dr. Rezwan Khan and Mr. Jawed Isa; May 13th, 2017, Minerva Banquet Hall, Plano, Dallas.
Other events in New York and Seattle are awaiting confirmation. Stay tuned!
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Help OBAT through Facebook
Facebook's appeal can extend beyond posting selfies and tempting photos of meals. Now you can use the social media site to raise funds for charities as well! Imagine the ginormous impact if all of our donors created a fundraiser for OBAT on their personal Facebook pages and invited their Facebook family to participate!
We promise, it will take not more than five minutes of your time.
Check it out!
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Inspired? Click here to DONATE to our projects
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