20th December, 2016
We began our day with our OBAT team including Dr. Rezwan, Dr. Kaiser, Arishaa, Immad Ahmed, Sohail Akhter Khan, Guddu, Sunny, Fakhruddin and local leaders of OBAT Saidpur, Halim Khan and Mahfuz. We visited the Arabic education center, in Bansbari, Saidpur where twelve wonderful kids had completed reading the Holy Quran. Along with excelling in school, these children are learning the Quran with meaning.
We have nine preschools in Saidpur from which two hundred and fourteen students have graduated this year. Almost every student was admitted in different schools after finishing preschool. We were able to visit Bansbari and Balurace, OBAT’ preschools in Saidpur, where twenty five and twenty-seven students are registered respectively.
We then visited The Smiling Sun Clinic with Dr. Rezwan Khan and Dr. Kaiser after visiting twenty-five pregnant women in Golaghat,Saidpur.Smiling Sun Clinic is funded by USAID and OBAT’s partnership. The Bangladesh Smiling Sun franchise program collaborated with a network of twenty-six NGO’s, including OBAT, to provide high-quality health services. We are lucky to have HCI(Human Concern International), Canada with us as our health implementation partner. The project works to support the health goals of the Government of Bangladesh and USAID by expanding access to family planning, maternal health, medicine and other health services. More than one hundred and three expectant mothers receive benefit from this partnership.
Afterwards, we moved to the tutoring center and were proud to award our outsourcing class graduates with certificates. The goal of the outsourcing course is to provide economic opportunities.
We are very happy to see more rising stars emerge from our Saidpur projects. Recently, Shadab Hossain received admission at the veterinary services school at Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh and Shohag Hossain was accepted to the Pharmacy Dept. at Dhaka University. Both of their fathers are day laborers and can hardly manage to support their families. OBAT Helpers plays a vital role in their admission process by providing them with scholarships.
After joining us for a few days on our camps and projects tour, Mr. Aftab Iqbal left for Dhaka. Before leaving for the U.S., he took the time to visit projects in Dhaka. He went to NLJ OBAT High school and visited Geneva Camp where he discussed sanitation problems with the camp residents. We thank Mr. Iqbal for the time he spent with us on ground and with the forgotten people we serve.
With an elderly camp resident
With a baby from our maternal health project
Arishaa Khan, visiting a mom and her baby (maternal health project)
Syedpur Tutoring Center’s graduation ceremony
Syedpur Tutoring Center’s graduation ceremony
Arabic Education Center
Dr. Rezwan Khan with Syedpur students
A woman and her new born child (maternal health program)
Meeting with the Syedpur staff
A toddler in Syedpur camp