Donating to OfP

You can make donations to OfP through Vancouver’s Mid-Main Community Health Centre, at this link. Please indicate that your donation is for the Bangladesh Health Project.

Mid-Main uses a donation processing service, Canada Helps. Mid-Main Community Health Centre has limited resources so they prefer using an outside agency to keep track of donations, issue CRA receipts and prepare statements. Canada Helps is an NGO that supports many Canadian charities like Mid-Main and charges a processing fee for administrative costs. For larger donations, you can bypass the processing fee by using the donation form on the Mid-Main website.

It is important to note that any donations that receive CRA receipts can only be spent on health care and health education activities because that is Mid-Main's mandate. We reserve these funds for the OFP health screening clinic and immunization clinics, for costs of poor villagers needing surgery or medicines, and for education of Bangladeshi students in health professions.

If you do not require a CRA tax deductible receipt, please contact us. Bangladesh Health Project directors do not claim CRA donations because we want to support the primary and vocational education projects. We can include your contribution with our regular transfers.

Cost of education at OIST

OfP Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is a technical and vocational education institute that offers skills training to high school graduates (Grade 10). Since opening in 2022, there are now about forty students enrolled in Computer Science and Civil Engineering programs. With tuition fees of about $25 CAD per month, the programs are affordable for most students, but even at this low cost, some students need to defer payment. Others receive scholarships, including graduates of OFP’s Bluebell School who get completely free tuition. Donor support will be important for several more years until start-up costs are absorbed and enrollment increases. In the photos, OIST students are writing examinations as required by the national regulator.

Social impact of IUBAT

This year, IUBAT scored well in the Times Higher Education [THE] Impact Rankings 2022.THE Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year, 1524 institutions were ranked from 110 countries and regions; in Bangladesh, this included 12 public and private institutions. THE uses indicators to compare institutions across four areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

IUBAT secured 6th position among twelve Bangladeshi Public and Private Universities and 4th position among nine Private Universities. According to IUBAT Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Abdur Rab, a major factor in IUBAT’s strong showing was the university’s vision of Knowledge-Based Area Development. This aims to produce at least one professional graduate from each village as a step towards community self reliance. Attracting students from under-served rural areas aligns with several SDGs in the United Nations call for global partnerships to end poverty and tackle climate change. Translating the concept into reality, IUBAT supplements the family resources of a student through with many forms of financial assistance.