Bluebell School students have participated in the UNICEF tree-planting program for several years. (In the photo you can see the new school yard fence to prevent neighbour’s cows and goats from participating in a One Tree, One Meal program!)
On a recent visit, BHP Director John Richards marveled at the growth of the tree that he planted with OFP Founder, Rabiul Islam in 2017.
Almost exactly twenty years ago, Dr. Karen Lund left a senior role at a biotech research company in Vancouver to volunteer with BHP. For over fifteen years, Karen lived and worked in Dhaka, serving as Visiting Faculty Chair for the IUBAT College of Nursing. Her goal was to build capacity to strengthen nurse education in Bangladesh at a time when nursing was considered “dirty work.”
In the early years, due to a shortage of local instructors, visiting faculty volunteers taught most nursing courses and supervised student practice. Karen coordinated the course offerings, directed faculty, taught several courses herself, supervised student research projects, and built the program administration. Karen’s outstanding contribution was to establish high expectations of students, promoting the idea of an international standard Bachelor of Science in Nursing delivered in Bangladesh. Summing up, Karen’s leadership of the College of Nursing in those early years resulted in IUBAT earning a reputation for producing the best educated nurses in the country.
In 2015, Karen received the Caring Governor General’s Award, a national honour recognizing significant volunteer efforts by Canadians. The Award honours the compassionate example of selfless contributions. Karen’s work at the IUBAT College of Nursing has affected the lives not only of her many students but also the countless numbers of their future patients. She continues as International Adviser to IUBAT College of Nursing Thank you Karen for sharing your skill and dedication for such a long time.
The New York Times recently published the series India’s Daughters with some parallels to Bangladesh. The six articles are about the conflict over young women’s futures amid the new opportunities offered by a flourishing economy. A daughter who gets a good job can lift her family out of poverty but many women are held back by cultural expectations that they should only have care-giving roles at home. Poor families with ambitious daughters must decide how much they should invest, with how much risk, for an uncertain future reward. And, just as important, who should make that decision?
The Government of Bangladesh has introduced many financial supports that enable parents to allow their daughters to finish their schooling. But there are still some costs and the extra years of supporting a daughter at home rather than married or working. Oasis for Posterity is tackling the issue by reducing cost barriers at the pre-K centres, at Bluebell School and at OIST and providing bursaries for female students attending local secondary schools. Your generous donations help Bangladesh’s daughters to delay marriage, finish their education and find work that brings them financial independence.
