Changes in the Neighbourhood

View 1 in 2010

View 1 in 2014

The neighbourhoods in Dhaka are ever-changing, and the area around the volunteer guest house is no exception.  Alex Berland, Senior Advisor to IUBAT, writes about the neighbourhood:

“I photographed these views this afternoon from the roof of our apartment block.  I took the pictures on the bottom of each pair in 2014, and the photos from 2010 are the ones of the top of each set, for comparative purposes.

The nearly-finished building next to ours (blue arrow in View 1, 2014) was constructed so poorly that it is already tipping on its foundation – but fortunately away from us, but not so fortunately for the encampment of Hindu fishermen who live on the other side.  The little “farm” at the end of our street is still there (yellow arrow in View 1, 2010). Today Khulsum, the farmer, showed me her new baby goats. They and ten older goats, plus Khulsum, her elderly mother and sister, and a cow and a bunch of chickens live in a space the size of a small Canadian city lot.

View 2 in 2010

View 2 in 2014

The street is paved now, with drains even. The landscaping is well-established, thanks to the climate. There is only one more vacant building lot near us. Once it is completed, the construction nightmare will be finished.

Our mushrooming middle-class neighbourhood is one result of 300,000 people moving to Dhaka every year. Sadly, the local playgrounds have been stolen by “land-grabbers” in cahoots with corrupt city officials. The good news is that it is still a friendly community where neighbours greet us as we walk to the university about 10 minutes away.”

For those who have travelled to, and volunteered in Dhaka, it may be interesting to see how the neighbourhood has changed and grown, yet stayed the same in familiar ways and with familiar faces.

Advancing Nurse Education in Bangladesh

In March 2014, IUBAT released a research monograph entitled Advancing Nurse Education in Bangladesh, which arose from research through the Bangladesh Health Project and collaborating universities and organizations, namely, IUBAT, Simon Fraser University and Mid-Main Community Health Centre in Vancouver, Canada.  The monograph focuses on the critical obstacle with providing better nurse education in Bangladesh – the shortage of qualified nurse educators.  It summarizes the current situation for education of nurses, introduces potential solutions from other countries and suggests a made-in-Bangladesh strategy.

This report, presented by Professor Alex Berland, follows the experience of the Bangladesh Health Project, as well as discussions with dozens of nurse educators, physicians and hospital managers.

Three initial steps proposed in the monograph to strengthen nurse education in Bangladesh:

1. To build a leadership coalition and a guiding strategy for nursing resource development.

2. To create a country-wide collaborative effort to advance nurse education.

3. To develop system supports to promote higher standards in nursing education and practice.

The monograph focuses on one aspect of strengthening nurses’ contributions, namely the education of nurses. A strong policy platform for developing the nurse education system could release nurses’ capacity as caregivers, advocates and client educators.

To read Advancing Nurse Education in Bangladesh, please click here.

Health Assessment Program at IUBAT

Earlier this year, more than 200 people who belonged to vulnerable communities were given free health services through a free community health assessment program conducted by the nursing students of the University of Business, Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT).

Conducted as part of the university’s founding anniversary celebration last month and organized by the IUBAT Nursing Society and its College of Nursing, the outreach activity provided free health services such as blood pressure measurements, vision testing, determining of body mass index, blood sugar testing, and health counselling to infants, children, adults, mothers, and geriatric residents.

As part of the activity, students interacted and assessed the needs of the communities, a significant process in health assessment programs that will capacitate them in identifying a community’s primary health care needs.

“The entire experience strengthened my resolve to graduate and eventually become a registered nurse in this country,” said Sailesh Bhandari, President of IUBAT Nursing Society, who participated in the activity.  He added that the program has allowed him to interface with the most vulnerable people in his community and allowed him to see the bigger responsibility to extend help.  “By completing my studies, I will be given the chance to practice my profession, which provide me that larger opportunity to extend help and serve my community,” said Bhandari.

The health assessment fair was supervised by four visiting international faculties from Canada and the Philippines, and involved the participation of four medical doctors who provided free health services among community members.

“Our community involvement and outreach activities are designed to provide the most needed services to highly vulnerable communities, particularly the marginalized urban poor of this city,” said Dr. Allimuyah Miyan, IUBAT vice-chancellor.

Dr. Miyan, who was the guest of honour in the event, added that IUBAT aims to strengthen community involvement of its university students, particularly those who are taking up medical and health courses, since they will be in the frontline the moment they graduate and practice their profession.

“We intend not just to develop the skills of our students, but also to shape their characters and harness their sense of community and volunteerism – important traits and values that we want to instill to our university graduates,” said Dr. Miyan.

To see more photos from the event, please go to our Flickr page by clicking here.