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ASPIRE
Your Monthly News & Updates

February 2017

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.
New Executive  Director!
                                                               
Immad Ahmed, surrounded by OBAT's Ferozeshah School kids
We are happy to announce that Immad Ahmed who has been serving as OBAT's COO since almost one and a half years will now be working as OBAT's Executive Director. We are grateful for the efforts of Dr. John Clark, for his leadership and service with OBAT as its former Executive Director; he will now be a member of the board, serving as Director/Board Chair.
As COO, Immad's work in the camps has been exemplary; he has streamlined operations and  processes, build partnerships and instituted several key changes. We welcome him in his new role which we believe  he will execute with even greater impact.   You can get to know him better here.
 
Fun fact: Immad is currently appearing in a CBS reality TV series, "Hunted," which airs on Wednesday evenings!

OBAT maintains stellar status on Global Giving!

"Global Giving is the first and largest global crowdfunding community that connects  nonprofits,  donors, and  companies in nearly every country around the world." We are grateful to have funded a preschool project through them and to have a new one for Chittagong Preschools be listed currently at https://goto.gg/2582. Through this site, we found new friends and new support and worked hard to keep our donors informed with the most current reports and participated in the developmental learning projects offered by them for their current non-profit partners. We are grateful for all this and for the badges they have renewed for OBAT for our continued good standing in 2016:



Grade six book distribution

New grades get added to OBAT's Schools

Another piece of heartening news! Three of OBAT's schools now have new grades added to them.  OBAT's   SB Nagar School in Chittagong will now be conducting grade six classes as well.Previously, the school  taught elementary (1st to fifth) grades. A book distribution program was held for the new grade level. 
Grade six was added to OBAT's English School and  grade nine has been added to OBAT NLJ High School as well.


OBAT confers with other NGO's
NGO's meeting

On the 15th of January, an NGO coordination meeting was held at Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Conference Hall. OBAT's representatives p resented all activities pertaining to OBAT's Chittagong projects and participated in a Q and A session where they addressed questions posed by other NGO's. Mr.Mohammad Mashukur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (General) was present as a chief guest. Representatives from all leading NGO's in Bangladesh were present.


 Mr. Shafiq (2nd from right) & Dr. Torres (4th from right) with OBAT's staff & students
Teach the World joins hands with OBAT

OBAT is excited to announce a joint collaboration with, Teach the World Foundation or TTWF. Teach the World Foundation is dedicated to conquering illiteracy worldwide. It has proposed various solutions and one of them is introducing "Tablet Technology" to preschool and grade one children. The TTWF t eam recently visited Geneva camps and had wonderful conversations with the camp kids regarding how they are struggling with their life and how education is empowering their future. We are  grateful to  Mr. Shafiq Khan (President & Co-Founder) and Dr. Robert Torres (Chief Strategy Officer) from TTWF for visiting the camps and for this collaboration. 
It will be a great opportunity for OBAT's preschool and primary school children to be a part of this outstanding approach and we hope that through this joint venture, we will be able to make a bigger impact on our next generation of students.
OBAT expands in North America                      
Mr. Godil & Mrs. Mehwish Farooq during their visit


The launch of OBAT Canada is the culmination of hard work by Dr. Wasty (OBAT's Vice-President; Policy Advisor at Global Affairs, Canada & Fellow at RSA) and his team who have been running RS Foundation  for almost a decade. RS Foundation will eventually transfer all its charitable work to the new organization, OBAT Canada. 
 
OBAT Canada was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in December 2016 and has applied for charitable status with the Canadian government, which it expects to receive by November 2017.
 
OBAT Canada's vision is to invest in humanity by supporting initiatives that provide opportunities for prosperity for vulnerable populations, so that they can be empowered to lift themselves out of poverty, improve gender equality, and create a better future for themselves and their children. At present, OBAT Canada's primary focus is in South Asia.
 
Mr. Atif Godil will serve as the Executive Director for OBAT Canada. 
He has spent considerable time in the camps with his wife, Mehwish in 2014, during which he audited OBAT's micro-finance program as well as  planned, conducted and analyzed the results of a household survey which allowed OBAT Helpers and RS Foundation to optimize their budgets by concentrating on the most critical needs of the camp residents.  You can read about his visit here.   In his previous/current professional careers,  Atif  has been successful as both a chartered accountant as well as an entrepreneur since the last decade.


Science fair students
Inventors in the making

The students of OBAT's Tutoring Center in Dhaka held a pitha festival and science  fair. Students made delicious varieties of pitha (type of cake) and learned to market and sell them at the fair- a step toward learning entrepreneurial skills. The students operated the stalls and executed marketing activities by themselves. Students from the science group organized a science fair on the same day. They presented amazing science projects such as, hydraulic bridge, environment friendly industry, solar system and energy saver, etcetera. We hope that one day, this little initiative will spark in them the desire to become successful inventors.
New grade 1 class at SB Nagar School
New students admitted into KG and grade one

With the beginning of the new year, OBAT's schools have been accepting new batches of students. All the schools recently held their admissions process for grade one. It was heartening to see the enthusiasm of the kids and parents as they turned out in big crowds fo r the admission day. 
Following number of new students were enrolled in the schools: 
KG:194 students; grade I: 354 students.

PEC and JSC students at the picnic, with OBAT's staff
Successful PEC and JSC students take a well-deserved break

The Kattali Sea beach was a scene of great enjoyment on January 16th. The revelers were OBAT's PSC and JSC (Junior and Primary School Certificate) students celebrating their graduation with great gusto.
Students from Halishaher and Sardar Bahadur Nagar educational projects participated in games and enjoyed the entire the day with OBAT's staff who had organized the trip for the enjoyment of the hardworking students.
Students from OBAT's Khulna educational projects were also taken on a trip to some historical places and parks. OBAT takes pleasure in arranging such educational and recreational trips for the studnets as they don't otherwise have access to such activities in their regular lives.
Mr. Sohail Khan leads the training
Dhaka teachers receive development training

Seventeen teachers from three OBAT's Schools in Dhaka, received training from OBAT's acting Country Coordinator, Mr Sohail Khan. The training introduced new teaching methods that would address all types of learners. It also focused on how to make classes more enjoyable and interactive as well as how to teach using digital methods.

 
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!

Let's make a difference in the lives of many more camp residents!

Inspired? Click here to DONATE to our projects

OBAT Helpers Inc. | 317.203.0603| contact@obathelpers.org |www.obathelpers.org
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