Allal Uddin in Dhaka

It’s been a long story started back in the year 2001. Far away from Dhaka a poor old man named Allal Uddin came in Gawair with his family of three kids and wife. He thought its better to have tough life in Dhaka and have two meals a day rather than not having any in his home town. Allal talked with his brother, who himself is a rickshaw puller in Dhaka, and decided to come over to his place and pull rickshaw. He was unaware of the fact that it’s never easy to pull rickshaw in Dhaka city for a man like him. He had no idea of the roads and the name of the places eventually he couldn’t even raise the rent of the rickshaw he was pulling. He asked his brother for help to keep his family with him as he couldn’t pay the house rent. For next one and half months he stayed with his brother and worked hard to change his luck. Sadly he only managed to income 70 Tk. Per day which is about $1.

He managed to rent a house after one and half months for 400Tk. per month. The only source of their drinking and bathing water was a pond about five kilometers away. They had no toilet, gas or electricity in the house. After pulling rickshaw for one year he managed to income one hundred taka per day and continued till 2005. He cried while describing an event saying he found his kid begging for food in the market. None other than Allal Uddin knows how a father feels when he finds his child begging for food. One day a passenger asked him to admit his kid in The Dhaka Project School. Allal Uddin with his elder son Jahangir went to The Dhaka Project office and requested Sulaiman, former Project Manager, for admission. At that period of the year the school was having its half yearly exam and it was not possbile to admit new student. Allal Uddin inspite of such melancholy he continued his son’s education at home. He challenged that Jahangir is capable of coping with the school standard. Jewel, The Volunteer Manager, asked Jahangir that can he read fluently the English written on his t-shirt and Jahangir did it with ease. It surprised everybody in the office and Maria, The Founder, ordered immediately to admit Jahangir. From than Allal Uddin’s journey with The Dhaka Project started.

Because of his virtuousness and dedication The Dhaka Project approached him many times for various job but due to some limitation it was not possible for the project to pay him sufficiently enough. As a further approach to help him The Dhaka Project decided to pay him house rent, a bed, blanket, charger light, trunk and etc. Finally in July 2008 he was recruited as a salesman for the project’s grocery shop and the Food For Thought program with a salary of 2500 which eventually increased to 3000. He then joined The Dhaka project’s Adult Development class. After working in the shop for the whole day he used to attain classes in the evening and do home works at night. His dedication for learning English is startling. After scoring good marks in the exam he was promoted to the computer skill development program. He flourished over there as well.

He believes he can utilize whatever he learned from the adult development program very effectively. He learned a great deal about English communication and Mathematics. He is capable of writing English and operate computer to some extend. Allal Uddin is a man who needs no luck to step ahead in life. He is working hard to step ahead of luck. We wish him best of luck for his future.

Shampoo Distribution

Hygiene is one of the major concerns of The Dhaka Project. We provide regular grooming, hand washing program and various others for improving the hygiene condition of the children. A donation of shampoo from Dubai was distributed among the kids. The hygiene conditions of the kids are ensured at school but at home it’s tough for them to buy a shampoo and remain clean. As a result the kids used to have dandruff and very scratchy skull. A total of five hundred kids were given shampoo to get rid of such problems. The kids were looking much fresh and comfortable. We care for every detail needs of these kids and our donors appreciate us by sponsoring various useful materials. We used to receive shampoo and soap from various Hotels but for last two months we did not get any such donation. We need attention for such donation. Thank you for supporting us.

Magdalema Trybus and Nyree Langdon decides to sponsor two children

A few more helping hands, Cabin Crew of Emirates Airways, hold The Dhaka Project’s kids tight. Magdalema Trybus and Nyree Langdon committed to sponsor two kids named Raina (STD-1) and Sumi (STD-1). They took a tour of the project and decided to sponsor these two kids. The crew and the kids were very excited and spent some very good quality time together. All other kids from STD-1 took some beautiful photographs.

The kids discussed their problems and how good they feel by having the touch of safety from these extraordinary volunteers. They also volunteered to help other staffs for the food distribution. They really appreciated The Dhaka Project’s organized and structured procedures to deal with all sorts of need of the kids. They found The Dhaka Project as a dream house where underprivileged kids from the slums of Dhaka enters and exits as a person with morality, dignity and true leadership quality.

Book Distribution @ The Dhaka Project

The blissful day at school is the day when students studies with new books. The smell and murmur sound of fresh new pages gives inspiration to the students. It seems the pitch dark letters of the new books are new best friends of the kids for the remaining session. In The Dhaka Project the day of joy, excitement and friendship with books was on 19th January by virtue of Chrysa Tsakopoulos, one of the greatest volunteer The Dhaka Project ever encountered. She was in Dhaka for very few days but with enormous dedication and promises. She gave these kids a dream and a path to reach their dream. All the students were given fresh new books for the remaining session of the year. The distribution was successfully done and ensured that no one was left from getting new books. The teachers are happy to teach with the new books as well. Parveen Sultana, Principal, Palash Roy, Vice Principle and the two coordinators worked in a much planned manner to execute the distribution program smoothly. It was held on the roof top of the school. Starting from junior classes, the entire student was given new books one by one. Those who were absent were listed and will get the books the next day after they attend the school. Thanks a lot to Chrysa Tsakopoulos for Making A Difference in lives of so many underprivileged Childeren.

FUNDRAISERS OF THE WEEK 7

The Dhaka Project Friday garage sales during this month have taken place regularly thanks to the availability of Nurul Islam who has been the hero running the sales alone, attending regularly and showing the potential of a true Bangadeshi slums survivor and dedicated worker in Dubai.
Spite of running the sales alone he has got nice amounts as follows:

• 1st Jan, 09. - 808.00 Dirhams
• 9th Jan, 09. - 1,808.00 Dirhams
• 16th Jan, 09. - 1,250.00 Dirhams

And Solange has come back from her holiday and is again on her hard task of taking care of the store in her spare time; a few days ago she had a surprise that made her more motivated... Maria had emptied the store and sent all existing items to Dhaka, after having found a ''good soul'' who paid for the freight.
Thank you to Nurul, Solange, Maria and the one who offered the freight to Dhaka, on behalf of TDP kids, who will hopefully benefit of these items very soon!
And thanks to all donors who have kept the flame on along the project's life !!!

SATURDAY FLEA MARKET SALE 1

On the first Saturday of the year our volunteers in Dubai have run a sale for The Dhaka Project at Safa Park in Dubai.
They have selected a lot of beautiful and useful donations to sell, having raised the amount of 3.913,00 Dirhams in the second presence at this fair.
Thanks to our volunteers who attended this sale; Doyle, Theresa, Natalie who offered many nice donations fortunately almost all sold, a friend of Natalie, Nurul, Herman, Marcelo and a lady from Phillipines.
It was a very good outcome and also a great teamwork there,... one could feel the pleasure of being there with so many nice people, working towards a good cause.
Also in this same day we received a donation of 1,000.00 Dirhams, from Mr. Mohammed who we wish to address a grateful thanks.
A huge thank you to all on behalf of The Dhaka Project kids.

Agata : Words from Bonn, Germany

Letter from Irina (Feedback)

Before I start, I would like to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to work for The Dhaka Project. I think it was a great experience and what you do there is an amazing thing. I was extremely impressed with how smart and intelligent some kids are and how much they enjoy learning new things. I also enjoyed a great deal working with the teachers, I hope my work benefited. I definitely plan to come back.

Some general things: I believe that in some places (pre-school, nursery) you have too many employees. Too many people doing the same thing, sometimes they do nothing.

Children do not have breaks between classes; it is impossible for a kid to pay attention to a class which comes after another one, without 5-10 minutes break. Even for me it was difficult to switch immediately from one class to another. This was very obvious especially in the pre-school – by 11 AM children were already tired, were not paying attention anymore and it was hard to keep them quiet. I think this is very important, and a short refresh after one class is a good thing, even for the teachers.

40 minutes for a class is not enough – since classes are big (20-30 students), 40 minutes is not enough to make all of them participate in the class and make sure they understood the new words, etc. Ideally it should be 50 minutes class + 10 minutes break.

Pre-school: the door between rooms is always open and the voices from one class can be heard from another. I think it disturbs to a certain extent the activity. Moreover, the door from the kitchen was always open and when the ladies were preparing the food, the smell and the noise would come in. The door must be closed, as this is a disturbance to the kids.

In one group, children do not study at a table, but stay on a mattress. They need to know how to write at a table, sitting in a chair in the upright position. It is not healthy for their bodies.

I also noticed that they don't have a sense of discipline – they stand up and leave the room anytime they want, without asking permission. They don't know that a class is something where they have to be quiet and pay attention. And if they want to go out, they need to ask the teacher first.

I gave some suggestions to Hosniara as to how to make her classes more entertaining and how to draw children's attention. In the coming days she improved a lot her lessons, telling more stories and using lots of visual examples to make the kids learn the letters and the new words. I think she is very good with the children, she can an asset for the pre-school.

I think that in the pre-school, more discipline is required, teachers must keep the students under control and monitor them all the time. No interference between the class and the kitchen.

In the EK School I participated at one English language class. I think the EK school is the place where major improvements need to me made. You need real teachers who apply teaching methods in their classes. I saw that mistakes are being made in explaining phonetics, pronouncing the words and giving grammar definitions. Major confusions between the parts of a sentence and the parts of speech. Confusions between interrogative pronoun and the adverb. If a teacher gives the wrong information, how can one expect students to speak and write English properly?

I think this should be the major focus for the Dhaka Project – finding real and well prepared teachers and making children understand that discipline is important.

I liked to see the teachers' enthusiasm in their work and kids' curiosity to learn new things.

I think the whole project idea is great and I wish more volunteers would come to help with their knowledge and skills.

What you are doing is amazing, I wish you all the best, keep it up this way! Giving poor children a chance to know the world is wonderful! Keep up the good work.


Kind regards, wishing you all the best,



Irina

The kids are back in School after the Vacation

After nine days vacation from 25th December to 2nd January the school was open again in its full form. The Dhaka Project ensured children’s food by organizing the food distribution program on the day before vacation. The kids are very cheerful after the vacation and looking forward for the final term of the session. To use all the teachers more effectively a new routine was made for the surplus teachers. It was verified that the routine was perfectly made as classes gone on after vacation. All the students and the teachers were in refreshing mood to precede with the daily life activities in The Dhaka Project and seemed more energetic than ever. They are looking more promising to do well in the final term. We wish this after vacation final term will let the students to concentrate more on their studies and will ensure a good result as a platform to their future.

Gifts from Agata Wisikowski, Bonn, Germany

Agata Wisikoeski, a volunteer who helped the kids in the trip to Germany, sends some gifts and letters rapped with her love for four of our kids and our fellow Volunteer Manager Mr. Shadiqur Rahman Jewel. These four kids are Anonnya Akter, Sabina Yeasmin, Sujon Ishaq and Mosharaf Hossain. These kids took part in the education festival held at Germany in the year 2008. By virtue of their brilliants and attractive personality they overwhelmed Agata Wisikoeski. She won’t be able to forget these kids ever after in her life. These little kids from the slums of Dhaka went to Germany last year but their journey to success is not finished yet. The gifts from Agata Wiskoeski are a reminder that these kids are not far from the helping hands of the people who live on the other part of the world. These kids are thankful to RSF - The Dhaka Project for establishing such a relation. We are thankful to Agata Wisikoeski for remembering our kids from the bottom of her heart.

Another Food Distribution

Yet another successful food distribution took place. All the students were looking forward for this day for the whole week. The attendance increased radically as all the students are aware of the fact that without maximum attendance they cannot participate in food distribution program apart from any valid reasoning for absent. Arifur Rahman Rossie, Project Manager, and Md. Azad, Community Manager, coordinated the whole program very successfully.

It was as always a day when it seems students celebrates the end of the week and promises another week of hardworking study at school. Some of the parents also came along with the students. They were very happy. They salute the approach of The Dhaka Project and we salute the donors who run the project.

Irina's Teacher Training Class

An organized loom to improve the educational quality of the children of The Dhaka Project was initiated by Irina Iacobescu, a volunteer from Dubai . She planned to train the teachers by taking four classes this week. Yesterday the first class was held. The main goal of the training was to teach English phonetics, and make sure that sounds are properly understood and used during future classes with the students. After going through vocals, consonants, diphthongs, etc., Irina moved on to practical exercises, as well as texts that allowed teachers to practice the English pronunciation. The teachers were very attentive and interested to learn about phonetics and grammars. It was a new dimension for the teachers to broaden their way of teaching. All the teachers being adequately qualified learned many prosperous issues of teaching also.

Irina described all the major points very clearly and with due respect. The Dhaka Project wishes very best to dedicated volunteers like Irina and desires that it will help to improve the schooling standard to a degree more. At the end of the day this will go as a contribution to the future of the children.

Lucy Ward's Experience at The Dhaka Project

I spent two weeks at The Dhaka Project and I loved every minute of it. All the children that attend the school there and even the ones that don't are a delight. I went with my friend, Kim, to teach a few children about Dubai, were we live, and the culture there. I have never been listened to with such intensity. They seemed to be hanging onto everything we said; it was an amazing site. I understand a bit more where the joy of teaching comes from. Unfortunately, with the time of year that we went the children had exams and the Eid holiday, so we didn't spend as much time teaching as we would have hoped. But we still walked around the Project and talked and played with the children.

It is a completely different world there. And how fantastic it is! The liveliness, the way everyone makes you feel welcome and no one more so than Jewel. He is the Volunteer Manager and he looked after the two of us. I would like to take this opportunity to say a massive Thank You to him from the bottom of my heart. There was never a dull moment!

I would recommend this experience to anyone that has a chance to do so. There are a wonderful number of opportunities there, other than teaching. So much can be done. I would love to go back and stay longer than two weeks. I could write on forever about my time there but I'll limit myself. Coming away, back to Dubai has really made me appreciate what I have. What seemed so simple and easy to do, like getting an education, is a privilege that I never really thought as a privilege; it was just a way of life. I realize now that it isn't but I believe that it should be. Those that agree with me all work at The Dhaka Project to help make this so and I commend them for that.

Lucy Ward
Volunteer from Dubai

Jeffrey's Feedback

As a third year medical student, the opportunity to volunteer with such a noble program is truly a life changing moment in ones life. The first day I arrived in Dhaka, after a long two day journey from New York, I was immediately greeted by two of the warmest, most sincere, and honorable men who not only welcomed me into their country, but into their homes.

Upon entering the Dhaka Project for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of each and every child. The desire for success, drive for change, and limitless ambition was unparalleled. As I was introduced to each class of students, the beaming smiles that greeted me will forever leave a lasting impression in my heart. One by one students rose and introduced themselves by name and age, dreams and goals. One female in grade IV told me she was nine, and wanted to be the next Prime Minister of Bangladesh! Lofty dreams not only separate the students of The Dhaka Project from other schools in the area, but it defines them.

My time at The Dhaka Project was spent at the Medical Center, as attaché to Dr. Jahid. Polio inoculations, Rhinitis, Scabies, sweltering fevers, invasive diarrhea, emergent sutures for an open wound head injury, and that was just my first day! Daily protocol involves checking for any immediate medical conditions that students may have presented with upon entering the school. The cases have varied from open wound sores, to severe upper respiratory distress. As the morning progresses, we first tend to the needs of the nursery, followed by any individuals of the pre-school who may have taken ill. The most prevalent diagnosis has been conjunctivitis, Rhinitis, and abdominal discomfort (no doubt due to rapid season change, and abundant dust that fills the dry fields where many of our students play).

Afternoon rounds involve going through daily sick lists, class by class. The nurse goes to one classroom at a time, and brings with her the “sick group”, ranging anywhere from four to fifteen students. We then examine the child, based on chief complaint. A differential diagnosis is made, followed with recommended treatment. It is apparent that poor hygiene and lack of sanitary conditions, are primary factors adversely affecting students overall health. In just a few short days, we have found nearly fifty cases directly related to poor hygiene in the home. Chief complaints are varied from cuts and abrasions, to gastrointestinal distress and skin lesions. As the week continues I look forward to working with Dr. Jahid, and assisting the project with all its current medical needs.

Exhibition of The Dhaka Project Sewing Materials @ Hotel Westin

The Dhaka Project’s Sewing Sector produces some of the finest products in Bangladesh. To make more people aware of this we have launched a Exhibition at Hotel Westin from 1st December to 3rd January. It was held at the 1st floor lobby.

The exhibition attracted more people than expected. The quality of the handicraft product fascinated everybody. Visitors of the exhibition got to know about The Dhaka Project and its work towards the underprivileged children of Bangladesh. Together with the visitors’ appreciation for such an approach by The Dhaka Project, they contributed by buying products from the Exhibition.

To organize such a fruitful idea to promote The Dhaka Project, Mr. Mahabubur Rahman, Communication Director, Hotel Westin assisted us with his best. The program was monitored by Rossie, Project Manager and executed by Ms. Jessica, Volunteer, Ms. Julie, Volunteer, Mr. Shimul, Operation Manager, Mr. Azad, Proctor and Mr. Jewel, Volunteer Manager. These fellow members of The Dhaka Project family worked hard from 6pm to 8 pm everyday after office proving their liveliness for the Exhibition.

Apart from the moral prospect of the Exhibition it also earned around BDT. 22,000/- for The Dhaka Project. Few products were bought in high prices just as a contribution for helping the children. Many visitors of the exhibition were interested in helping the project in near future. All together it was a widely successful attempt to earn awareness and fund for the children of The Dhaka Project.

Thank to Hotel Westin and special thanks to Mr. Mahabubur Rahman for supporting our project.

SHARANIS SUPPORTS THE DHAKA PROJECT

The Sharanis Wellness SPA in Abu Dhabi has kindly offered their help to The Dhaka Project.
Sharanis Wellness is specialized in skin and body therapy with the most advanced techiques where you can enjoy providing health to your body through a variety of announced services and at the same time feel the benefit of helping a worthy cause... the cause of the poorest children at The Dhaka Project.
They will be running a fund raising event, two Walking Groups, that will take place on 17th January, at the Corniche in Abu Dhabi at 5 PM , and at Raha International School, Khalifa City A , on behalf of The Dhaka Project.
People will be able to help by acquiring Sharanis Walking Vests and join the event. All the proceeds will go towards the children at The Dhaka Project. It's a good way of making the difference.
More detailed information can be found in Sharanis website under News & Events.
From our side we wish to express a big thanks to Sharanis Welness SPA, specially to Sharon Moore, the Managing Director, on behalf of our children and for the kindness shown towards them on creating this wonderful event !!!

Half Yearly Examination Report Card

According to the published result of the half yearly examination the promising and the bright little stars of The Dhaka Project are enlisted below.

Class	ID	Name	Position	Total Marks	Obtained Marks
KG - 1	189	Zakia Akter	1st	150	150
	67	Sraboni Akter	2nd	150	147
	213	Nazmul Islam	3rd	150	146
KG - 2		Robiual Awal	1st	150	142
	67	Jashim Islam	2nd	150	140
	213	Bristy Akter	3rd	150	139
STD - 1	50	Ovi	1st	500	493
	445	Kakoli Akter	2nd	500	492
	518	Shirina Akter	3rd	500	488
	213	Khadiza Akter	3rd	500	488
STD - 2	700	Taslim Hossain	1st	500	468
	490	Sabbir	2nd	500	464
	706	Zakir Islam	3rd	500	453
STD - 3	120	Ayesha Akter	1st	500	467
		Milon Mia	2nd	500	458
		Asgor Ali	3rd	500	436
STD - 4	694	Rupali Akter	1st	500	483
	505	Shah Alam	2nd	500	480
	13	Shahadat Hossain	3rd	500	479
STD - 5	484	Rita	1st	500	457
	529	Sumi	2nd	500	444
	590	Zakir Hossain	3rd	500	440
STD - 6	465	Mosharof	1st	500	454
	492	Saddam	2nd	500	438
	136	Nusrat	3rd	500	430