Engaging with the community

OfP President, Rabiul Islam, met recently with students and faculty at OIST. Rabiul is a very engaged leader, meeting frequently with participants in all the OfP projects: students, families, OfP staff and volunteers and community members. International visitors are typically invited to a community forum to hear first hand about concerns and priorities from the local beneficiaries of OfP activities. At the session shown below, the community described public health concerns that led to creation of OfP's chronic illness screening program.

At recent meetings in Balagram, Rabiul (seated at the front desk in the photo below) is hearing directly from students about their experience in the first "batch" at OIST. In separate meetings he also heard from stakeholders at Bluebell Primary School.

Student sports

Like colleges all over the world, OIST promotes games and sports for the health and social development of its students. OIST teams participate in national and local competitions such as the recent Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Inter-College Football Tournament. This was held in June at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in the sub-district centre, Nilphamari. OIST won their match 2-0 against a team from Nilphamari Alia Fazil Madrassa but did not proceed further in the tournament – on this occasion.

New York Times on climate change and Bangladesh

“Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon” is the headline for a recent NYT article. The author is Somini Sengupta, the NYT international climate correspondent. She traveled through Bangladesh to meet people adapting to water crises aggravated by climate change. These are issues well-known to the farming communities of Jaldhaka district served by OfP. Sengupta’s story is positive, identifying the risks but focusing on the nation’s adaptation, such as early warning systems, innovative farming techniques and rainwater capture. The photo shows OfP volunteers delivering emergency food supplies to villagers affected by monsoon flooding.