Professional training for better futures

Rural women and children stay behind when male relatives leave for work elsewhere

Oasis Institute for Science and Technology (OIST) is based in Rangpur Division in the north-west of Bangladesh. With a population around 18 million, Rangpur is the poorest of seven divisions in Bangladesh with the highest incidence of extreme poverty. Balagram, the village where OIST is located located, is a so-called “monga” zone, a Bengali term referring to a cyclical phenomenon of poverty and hunger. It occurs twice each year, from September to November (after the first rice crop is planted) and from March to April (following the second planting). These natural phenomena lead to fewer local jobs, resulting in rural workers migrating for work; those who cannot migrate may face food inadequacy and malnutrition.

His younger brothers attend Bluebell School, but the eldest must work.

During community dialogues in Balagram, local residents have told us that higher education opportunities are very scarce in the area, creating a barrier for advancement even for capable high school graduates. OIST offers students training for high-demand jobs in civil and computer technologies. Our first batch of students performed well in recent national exams and is about to enter their third year of training. As their studies progress, students need new learning tools to practice their technical skills.  We rely on donor contributions to purchase learning tools and equipment for the civil engineering and computer technologies programs. If you would like to support development of these training resources,  please visit our BHP donations page or contact us directly.

New teachers at Bluebell School

Rabiul Islam, OFP founder, writes, “Bluebell’s education and educational materials are provided completely free, with a team of seven dedicated teachers delivering the classes as well as extra-curricular activities. In order to strengthen students’ basic literacy and math skills, three experienced female teachers have recently joined the teaching team.” The BHP website will profile the new teachers individually in upcoming blog posts.

One of the new teachers, Sree Kajaly says, “We have learned that education is the backbone of a nation. No nation can progress without good education of the younger generation. Education also inspires humanity, which is why the teaching profession attracts me so much.”   If the Bluebell teachers’ dedication also inspires you, would you please consider supporting the school with a donation?

Community dialogue to improve village health care

During a recent visit by BHP Directors, OfP Founder Rabiul Islam organized a community dialogue on health care services in Balagram village. Those attending were mostly elderly men and women with chronic pain from a lifetime of field labour plus chronic illness such as hypertension and diabetes. They told us that when they need medical care, they never use the local services because the staff do not provide good treatment, disrespect them, and demand bribes. Instead, the villagers bypass two nearby towns and go to a private hospital in the divisional capital. Due to cost and distance, however, they often do not complete or renew medication or make follow-up visits (e.g. for physio).

OfP already operates OIST Health Centre, an extremely popular screening clinic where volunteers provide simple tests for people suffering from chronic illness. This recent community dialogue, helped us identify potential services that could be offered by the OIST Health Centre in the future

1.       Expanded chronic illness program for e.g. diabetes, heart, respiratory, kidney disease

2.       Navigation to assist patients to find appropriate care providers

3.       Programs for people with chronic pain

4.       Cooling center when air temperature is dangerously high

5.       Primary school health and wellness education programs

In the longer term, we hope to supplement the volunteers staffing the health centre by training and hiring local youth as health care workers. As funds permit, we will develop these ideas into programs to serve this vulnerable population. We welcome your financial support for our health care programs.