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ASPIRE
Your Monthly News & Updates

January 2018

Happy new year to the best group out there! 
Brace for more social impact in 2018!
New water pump in Rangpur

Thank you for a fantastic 2017!

Thank you to each one of you for your efforts for making this another impactful year for OBAT. Your  generous contributions have played a crucial role in  taking this wonderful organization and its mission another step further.  If you have not had the chance to see it yet, you can view our 2016 electronic  annual report  
Here is an update for the general new initiatives undertaken in 2017:

  • 8 new bathrooms
  • 23 bathrooms renovated
  • New SB Nagar School Building & addition of grade 6
  • A new adult literacy program in SB Nagar
  • 10 new hand pumps for clean water in Rangpur ; 8 new hand pumps for clean water in Bogra- total beneficiaries 4,175
  • New tutoring center in Syedpur (sponsored by RS Foundation)
  • Rohingya Crisis Management

None of this would have been possible without your support so we 
thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your compassionate spirits and generous hearts.
You can generate more impact through a couple of easy methods.  You or your friends can create a fundraiser for OBAT on 
Facebook and invite your Facebook contacts to donate to OBAT
through it. 100% of the funds raised in your fundraiser will be received by OBAT.  It is a great way of not only increasing awareness for OBAT's cause but also to create more financial support for it. Creating a fundraiser is
very easy and instructions on how to do so can be found
Corporate matches to donations also bring in substantial revenue by doubling donations. It is easy if you yourself work at a company that matches donations but  If you don't and have friends who work at such companies , you or other friends can give donations to them to 
donate through their companies so that they can be matched and doubled.

Thank you once again. Hope the new year brings the best of everything for everyone!


 First medical center in Kutupalong camp
Updates on Save the Rohingya campaign

Eighteen learning centers are up and running for Rohingya children, as of now. The schools run in two shifts with each consisting of anywhere from fifty to sixty-five students.
The new medical center run by OBAT led Humanitarian Assistance Program is also serving the needs of the community and is fully equipped with a well stocked pharmacy. 
A second center's construction is in progress.
Click here  for photos from the crisis and OBAT's efforts to address it. Follow the progress we are making, with your assistance, here.

Please join us as our Humanitarian Assistance Program team works continuously to extend assi stance to the Rohingya refugees. We are in great need of medical help in the camps due to the outbreak of various diseases. If you are a medical professional and would like to volunteer your medical expertise, please reach us at: [email protected]. If you cannot help in person, consider contributing:   Donate here!
Jannat-ul-Pinky, a 5.0 GPA student
Remarkable exam results from OBAT's educational projects

Recently, the PSC (primary school certificate)  and JSC (junior school certificate) exam results were released and our students made us proud once again. Fifty percent of the total students taking the PSC exam received an A, A+ or A- while forty-five percent of the total JSC students were the recipients of the A grades.  Congratulations to all the students and their teachers!
A special shout out for Dhaka English school students where 100% of the students received an A grade. 
Two other exceptional students who received a 5.0 GPA from Chittagong tutoring center, shared their stories with us. Take a moment to watch Jannat-ul-Pinky and Naushin Afroz's story.
We are so proud of the students for this spectacular result and wish them the very best.
Children learning through their tablets
Partnership with Teach the World Foundation promotes digital learning

The ongoing collaboration with TTWF (Teach the World Foundation) to  implement digital learning, is bearing fruits. The digital learning program 
currently brings Math, English and Bangla to one hundred and twenty-four  preschool and working children in Geneva Camp, Dhaka. The program will be expanded to serve over 1,000 students in 2018.

In the pre-alpha phase of the project, that lasted from April to July, forty-eight preschool kids and thirty working children were included in the intervention group.
The control group consisted of fifty preschool kids and twenty-five working children.

After successful completion of the pre-alpha phase, the alpha
phase began in September 2017. Currently, four sessions of preschool kids and two sessions of working children comprise the intervention group in Geneva Camp. The control   group consists of fifty preschool kids in Mirpur. 
The pre-assessment of the project has been completed by OBAT. Research partner ITA (Institute of Technology Assessment), carried out a
midline assessment in December coupled with a  household survey of each student as well as focus group discussions  with facilitators, parents and students. We are grateful to TTWF for joining hands with us to revolutionize learning in the camps.

BMSS student talks to audience about Aids
Think Tank creates awareness for World Aids Day

OBAT Think Tank and BMSS (Bangladesh Medical Student Society) collaboratively organized an awareness campaign
on "World AIDS Day." More than one hundred and fifty young camp residents joined this session which was conducted over a two day period. BMSS Doctors and Think Tank volunteers
dispensed knowledge about AIDS prevention and treatment. Myths about the disease were addressed through the enactment of a play.
Fliers with information about the disease were distributed. 
At the end of the sessions, attendees participated in a quiz competition. Questions pertained to the information that was given out during the presentation. Prizes were awarded to the participants with the best three scores.
Several volunteers and guests visit camps

December saw a steady stream of visitors to the camps. Dr. Maureen Lynch (previously associated with Refugees International) has been to the camps multiple times. Mr. Todd Shea from CDRS has been helping with Rohingya relief and this was his second visit in two months. OBAT's board member, Masum Rahman also assisted with Rohingya relief work- this is a video he made of the conditions in Kutupalong camp. Kristen Van Busum, from Project Alianza visited the camps for the first time. Dr. Shahid Yusuf, along with some fellow doctors and members from the organization, APPNA, also spent some days extending help in the Kutupalong camp. Dr. Javed Suleman and Mr. Aftab Iqbal also visited the camps during December. Ms. Narissa Paskovskis, a volunteer from the US, worked in the Rohingya camps and also visited other OBAT projects in Chittagong.

Dr. Maureen Lynch
Mrs. Laila left, with Mr. Shea, to her right
Ms. Kristen Van Busum
Dr. Shahid Yusuf, center
Dr. Javed Suleman, center with Mr. Anwar Khan to his right
Mr. Aftab Iqbal
Mr. Masum Rahman,  left with other team members
Ms. Narissa Paskovskis at Chittagong Tutoring Center

Columbia management presents OBAT staff with grant check
OBAT receives grant from Columbia Sports

Columbia Sportswear, a US based company, presented OBAT with a grant through their Columbia Community Program.
The grant was given for the renovation of OBAT's SB Nagar Elementary School  in Chittagong. The OBAT Chittagong team received  the check from the Columbia management at their corporate  office on December 14th. The company intends to continue its support  for the development of OBAT's education  program. Members of the Columbia staff visited the SB Nagar School to participate in the renovation process.

NLJ High School students engaged in essay writing competition
The many Bangladesh victory day celebrations!

Victory day gets celebrated in a big way every year by the students in OBAT's educational projects. This year was no exception. Some of the ways in which the event was celebrated was through art and essay competitions, a cricket tournament and cultural programs. OBAT's girl and boy scouts groups from the Rangpur School also participated in the national parade for the victory day celebrations at the Rangpur Stadium.

Facebook makes it easy to multiply impact! 

Most of you probably have hundreds of friends on Facebook. Imagine harnessing all their philanthropic leanings into a fundraiser that you create for OBAT on Facebook! The result could be tremendous! 
All you need to do:
  • Go to your Facebook home page
  • Click on "Fundraisers" on the left side of your screen, under the "Explore" heading
  • Next click on, "Raise Money" and then "Get Started"
  • Choose OBAT from the Nonprofits area
  • Enter a few details and invite your friends
  • You are all set!
The good news is, a full 100% of the amount you raised will be sent to OBAT- Facebook does not deduct transaction fees anymore for nonprofits.
Raise away!

Inspired? DONATE to our projects!

OBAT Helpers Inc. | 317.203.0603| [email protected] |www.obathelpers.org
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