Jessica's Feedback

Well, my blog has finally arrived, 2 and-a-half months after I arrived in Bangladesh. What can I say? I have been having too much fun!

I arrived at the Dhaka Project not really having any idea of what to expect, or even what I was going to be doing at the project. I had decided I was going to come at the whole experience with one particular goal in mind – to listen and learn. I wanted to know what the project wanted from me. They know their problems better than I do. I was just here to give a helping hand. I am a designer by trade…but also a native English speaker. So I became an English teacher, naturally!

Sounds really easy, I thought - I can speak English! Well, turns out I don’t speak English very well at all. I know what’s right and what’s wrong – but I don’t know why! I don’t even remember learning about ‘tenses’. I think I just came out of the womb conjugating verbs.

So the challenge: How can we improve the English skills of 600 children?
Answer: By training 23 teachers to improve their English skills.
Next challenge: How do I learn how to teach English?
Answer: Lots of research, lots of study, lots of questions to fellow volunteers, and lots of feigned confidence!

First I had to evaluate the teachers. After seeing their results I created a syllabus which was appropriate. The biggest problems that we were facing were grammatical and pronunciation issues – most of the teachers were speaking what I began to refer to as ‘Banglish’ – including bad phrasing and incorrect pronunciation of words. Many also had thick accents. It was imperative that the children did not start to pick up on the errors, and that the accents were not being mistaken as another form of mispronunciation.

The other problem was that some of the teachers were upper-intermediate and many were just beginners. I split the teachers into 2 groups – A and B. Originally the 2 groups were meant to be based on ability, but it became a bit of a jumble after a while – I had obviously made a few ‘mistake’ placements, and suddenly people started swapping groups. (I didn’t mind so much, the chaos seems easier to deal with here if you just move with it.) So in the end the groups just became a way for me to have to deal with less students (or teachers) at once, thus reducing the amount of dushto chelegulo in my class at one time!

We had 17 lessons combined, with the focus on grammar. The content, whilst necessary, got boring at times, but we always had a laugh. Although I never thought that I would have to use so much discipline on adults. My next challenge was to try to stop laughing, and try to be mean! Stern looks and using “chup!” CHUP!

Despite a few small hiccups, the classes went well, and effort was shown by all, considering the busy schedule of the teachers. The teachers have very long days in difficult conditions. The school is currently understaffed, and many of the teachers are forced to cover the workload of missing teachers by taking classes for every period, giving them little preparation time. Given their background, the children (though gorgeous and completely hilarious) are a little on the ‘wild side’. I can see the exhaustion on the faces of the teachers as they come into my class after their long day. But nevertheless, we powered on, even having weekend workshops for 3 hours at a time for the final 3 weeks so we could cover everything before I had to depart.

Finally, the exam arrived and went ahead as planned. It was made up of 5 parts – listening, reading, basic grammar, writing and speaking. I had never written an exam before, so was a little nervous about the results. Would everybody fail? Would it be a fair reflection of everybody’s ability? I needn’t have worried, as the results were fair, and most people passed. There were actual improvements to be seen. Hooray! It was a success for the teachers, the Dhaka Project and I.

What I learnt whilst teaching English to the teachers:
• English
• Not nearly as much Bangla as I had hoped
• How to read a Dutch photocopy machine
• Don’t say you’ll visit a teacher’s house and then forget…
• The joys of Mama cha… Shingara!
• Don’t blame teachers for spelling errors when they are using the Oxford “Foreing Languge” (sic) Dictionary! (complete with spelling mistakes on the cover)

After all the work with the teachers, I was asked to take a quick look at the sewing section of the Dhaka Project to give some design tips and make it more sustainable. Unfortunately due to some visa issues, my trip here was dramatically cut short, and I was only able to dedicate about 15 days to it. (My blog with the final outcome of the “Sewing Challenge” will be coming soon.)

I will really miss this place – I have had so many crazy experiences. After a while I would wake up in the morning and forget that I was somewhere else. Gawair (the area where the project is located) just started to feel like home.

Most memorable moments in Gawair:
• The Qurbani, or sacrifice, on Eid Al Adha on my second day in Dhaka.
• Painting a picture with Julie to describe ‘diarrhoea’ on the handwashing awareness poster.
• Stepping in a pile of gutter ‘effluent’ when walking home in the dark
• Anything involving an obscenely loud microphone or megaphone outside my window at an ungodly hour
• Being head-butted by a cow
• Having cha with Farid the Freedom Fighter
• Children shouting Bideshi! (foreigner) at me everyday.
• Being welcomed into so many houses for delicious food with such warm hospitality.

Massive thanks to ALL staff at The Dhaka Project for the excellent experience especially Jewel (volunteer manager), Julie (my housemate), Irina (volunteer whose notes were invaluable to me whilst preparing the syllabus), my Mum (a teacher, sent me lots of links), and of course, to beautiful Bangladesh.

I will never forget my time here. I will back soon insha’allah.

Jessica

OUR THANKS TO CAPTAIN KWONG AND FAMILY KOLB !

The Dhaka Project has recently been given a few more donations.
Kwong Yung Link, Captain with Emirates, got to know about The Dhaka Project during one of his flights. Listening with his heart, he got aware of the the constant struggle and concern needed to keep it running and immediately decided to make two donations in one; 1000 Dirhams plus 200 US Dollars, that will make a great difference in the life of the children at the project.
Another beautiful donation, a family donation, has come from Audrey Kolb and her young son Kaleo.
Audrey Kolb donated several items to the project and Kaleo, who has celebrated his fourth anniversary, collected money instead of receiving gifts from their friends on his birthday, so giving up the pleasure of unwrapping his birthday presents and having the pleasure of helping our children in Dhaka. He collected an attractive sum of 1000 Dirhams that will do wonders in the project.
We wish to express our deep gratitude for the kindness from the compassionate Captain Kwong, and from the dedicated mum Audrey Kolb and her enthusiastic 4 years old son, Kaleo, for all the help provided, on behalf of The Dhaka Project kids and their families.
THANK YOU !

International Mother Language Day

The Bengalis' love for and attachment to their language and culture are great and when in 1952 the neo-colonial, power-hungry, arrogant rulers of Pakistan declared that “Urdu and only Urdu should be the state language of Pakistan”, they sowed the seed of its future disintegration. The people of Bangladesh, particularly the students of Dhaka University, rose in angry protest against the vicious undemocratic designs of the Pakistani government. Those designs really amounted to the destruction of Bangla language and culture and imposition of the language and culture of the people of Pakistan. The reaction was strong and spontaneous. The government decided to quell protests by brute force. The police opened fire on 21st February 1952 on unarmed peaceful protesters, most of whom were students, resulting in the death, among others, of Rafiq, Barkat, Jabbar and Salam.

We passed on this history to our children of The Dhaka Project and celebrated the day after with pride, passion and sorrow. We see hundreds of Rafiq, Barkat, Jabbar and Salam in our students who are equally passionate about Mother Tongue which was proven by their expression and performance in the program.

Arifur Rahman, Project Manager, opened the program with one minute silence and his speech to encourage the children that how precious is our language. The program was organized in such a way that all the participants were students who practiced hard for last twenty days. The show was hosted by Sujon Ishaque and Nusrat. Some beautiful song was sung. Classical dances were wonderfully presented by Anonna and Rita. One of the highlight of the show was Nazrul and Sumon’s drama. It seemed all the volunteers in spite of being not knowing bangla language understood everything. They showed how connecting is bangle language, how expressive is the thousands of years old culture we have and how much loving it is. All of our volunteers were surprised and fall in love with bangla. The Dhaka Project presents some very patriotic and brightly ambitious young personals whom most of the world call underprivileged and slum kid. We promise together with our supporters that in a very short period of time these children will be the leaders of the country in every sector.

Kathie and Andrew @ The Dhaka Project

Andrew McFarlane and his mother Kathie was here in The Dhaka Project. They were here with lots of donation and with a great deal of commitment. They brought huge amount of medical accessories with them including medicines and some medical equipments. Kathie worked hard with Doctor Jahid in Medical Center by seeing patients as she herself is a paramedic.


She pointed out the things which Medical center needs very much at the moment but cannot effort to buy. She donated around BDT 20,800 for purchasing those equipments in addition to the donation of BDT 21,000 by her son Andrew McFarlane. Andrew on the other hand took science classes in the senior section of the school. He was amazing with his teaching skills and took good care of the classes. We appreciate every volunteer’s contribution as their experience and support is taking us in the enlightened future of which us, every children and the families related to the The Dhaka Project are dreaming.

Rosemary's Feedback

January 2009

This is my first trip to the project, I didn’t know what to expect as I dint know a soul there before I left for Australia. I have been on Aid trips before and the Dhaka Project is now the top of my priority to see how much I can assist this community to become independent, healthy and educated. I taught the essentials of Universal Precautions, basic hygiene, First aid and held many health assessments in the schools, kindy and nursery. Also completing a “community health in the home project”, facilitating a few families with rehabilitation (one client was post stroke after a severe viral infection and had some residual paraplegia), diet and nutrition advice for families whose choices in diet were very limited, and also liaising with the Project Doctor on ways to assist clients.

We need Western Nurses to go to the project and keep these facilities running. If you are studying please consider using the Dhaka Project needs as part of your study. The benefits on both side of the world will inspire you to greater things, and fulfill the wishes of the community for self empowerment.

The Bangladeshi people are beautiful; they live in meager circumstances but remain happy and accepting. The Gawair area shines with the beauty of the people in a way that not even the constant sight of flea ridden animals, basking next to stalls of hanging raw meat (perhaps your next purchase for dinner that night) could possibly make you forget.

A little goes a long way in this country, moneywise - $50 Aussie dollars will bring approximately 3000 taka, this is a very significant amount of money. New Water sources need to be found, pumps are required as is the need for school books for the children and other consumables. The school educates those who would not ordinarily be educated, due to their station and location in the communities. The Medical Centre offers assessments and treatment for the children and soon their families too, something not normally available to them.

A little bit of compassion and knowledge has an immense ramification on this community too. The importation of skills is vital to the sustenance and viability of the project and the empowerment of the community.

I will be back to the Dhaka Project as soon as I can raise the sponsorship money and would encourage anyone out there contemplating this endeavor to just commit and get on with it. The staff is fantastic, their focus is to love and sustain the children in the project and they have huge compassion for their countryman.

Signed Rosemary Hunt Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

The Dhaka Project children @ ISD

We believe it’s not all about study and daily routine life for the children. A step to make them aware of our culture and literature we took thirty students to ISD drama program. A play named “PARINITA” was played by the senior students of International School Dhaka. Jewel, Volunteer Manager, Julie and James assisted the children to organize and take them to the venue. It was a great learning curve for the kids and varieties of information was gathered by the children about our culture and how our literature used to be in past. It was a very entertaining play and was beautifully executed by the ISD students. The Dhaka Project’s children were taken very good care. They were served snacks and the organizers were very alert about anything our children needed. All in all it was a very good outing for the students after school. We thank ISD very much for inviting us in the program and letting our students to participate as audience.

Donation from the Bagha Club

No wonder why The Dhaka Project is on the way to one of the most successful establishment to help the community and the underprivileged children from the slums of Dhaka. This is a journey which needs enormous dedication and firm helping hands from the contributors and the contenders. We are as fanatical as any freedom fighter and our children are as solemn about their study as any passionate patriot.

When it is about how strong our contributors are holding us, the example was set up at "Around The World", a fund raising event organized by the Bagha Club. The night was dedicated for promoting The Dhaka Project with the expats. The contribution included all the money received by selling the food items, raffle draw, bar items and tickets. All the costing for organizing the event was sponsored by Emirates Airline and some other individual sponsors. No matter what the guests bought everything was considered as donation for The Dhaka Project. The raised fund was about BDT 70,000/-. We thank Mr. Sajid, Manager, Bagha Club, and all the people who worked hard to organize this occasion. We believe as long as persons like Mr. Sajid is in this world our children can keep smiling with a tension and will become triumphant in life. God bless Mr. Sajid.

Mia's Feedback

My time in Dhaka, was unfortunately a very short trip due to other commitments. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience, showing that even just a few days of your time can make a difference and is better than nothing.

I arrived (metaphorically speaking) "blind". It was my first time volunteering abroad and I did not know what to expect from the accommodation you are provided, to the school where I was due to teach. Fortunately, I was given an excellent timetable, and that plus the kindness and help of others, I was able 'find my feet'.

On the first evening that I arrived, I was greeted by Jewel at the airport who took me to my accommodation. The accommodation is very safe, clean and comfortable. There's a small lounge with T.V, and kitchen with plates, cups and cutlery. Be warned though, there are no pots or kettle so it may be an idea to bring a small travel one if you feel you will need it.

The following day, I was shown around the Dhaka Project, which consists of the health care centre, day care centre, the main school and the pre-school amongst others. I was also shown the tiny classrooms that the Dhaka project started off in. It's a credit to Maria (Founder of the Dhaka Project), the volunteers, as well as those working on a permanent basis for the Dhaka project that it has become as big and as successful as it currently is. I hope this continues.

That afternoon I took some classes, I was supposed to take classes in the morning also however due to the fact that I was being shown around this wasn't possible. This was a shame as I didn't have a lot of time as it was, and therefore highlighted the need for communication in order for volunteers to get the most out of their time their.

The children are very excited to see any foreigner and although they are well mannered and well behaved, some need further discipline in order to be quiet etc when told to do so.

My second day there was just as fun and busy as the first; taking lessons and then visiting the day care centre, before helping out with the food distribution, which is a fantastic idea in which each week the children receive food to take home for the weekend.

That completed my experience of Dhaka…… time permitting, I will be returning to volunteer further in the school. Hopefully next time I will also be able to stay longer as I do believe it would be a more enriching experience the longer you stay.

Updates of Morjina and Ridoy

We have mentioned in the earlier block that Ridoy was admitted in the hospital for his underweight and chest infection problem. The condition of both mother and child is improving gradually. It was really heartening to see Ridoy looking to be very much improved yesterday. They are likely to be in the hospital for a couple more days depending on what the Professor decides. At this stage Julie was being told that Ridoy will remain in hospital until he is 6.0 kg and they are hoping that Morjina's health will also improve. Julie took in enough kitchuri (lentils and rice with spice) for two days for both Ridoy and Morjina, 500gm of cooked beef, 2 bottles of mango juice and plenty of fruit. She encouraged Morjina to eat and drink the juice telling her that if she becomes stronger and healthier so will Ridoy. Ridoy was smiling for the first time and eating kitchuri, on his own very well, and also trying to stand up.

A bold effort from Rosemary, Julie and Faria helped this little family to become less vulnerable to may be more serious health problems. Rosemary initially donated 1200 taka so that Ridoy (mother Morjina) could be admitted to hospital for treatment and investigations. She later added to this donation by sending $200 Australian dollars (equivalent to 9000 taka, 10,200 total donation so far) so that care can continue for baby Ridoy and his mother Morjina. Rosemary has also said that she will continue to provide donations for Ridoy's healthcare.

We respect and appreciate from our heart such financial contribution from Rosemary. We salute Julie for her restless hard work and dedication to help Ridoy and Morjina.

CAPTAIN AND CREW DONATED AND PROVIDED LOGISTICS !

Captain Marcelo Correa and his crew have made a donation to The Dhaka Project. They fundraised an amount of 6835 Taka plus 50 Dirhams during their recent flight to Dhaka.
Prior to their flight, Captain Marcelo Correa kindly passed by the storage room in Sheikh Zayed Road to take items to be delivered at the project in Dhaka; this type of help is valuable to the kids under the project care providing them with used still in good condition clothes as well as having used toys that make their wonders, or being provided with some other useful items all donated by TDP friends in Dubai.
This is really an amazing help from crews who are flying to Dhaka and that is always very welcome .
A huge thanks to Captain Marcelo Correa and his crew on behalf of the kids at the Dhaka Project!

Mia Ramsden @ The Dhaka Project

A very dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer Mia Ramsden visited The Dhaka Project. She was here for two days but she was involved in a great deal of activities. She showed us how well time can be managed. At first she took a visit of the whole project with Jewel, Volunteer Manager.

She taught art in STD-3, STD-4, STD-5 and STD-6. In addition to this she played cricket with the children and played with the children of nursery.

She played a short cricket match and the children were very excited about it. Although it was only a matter of two days it seemed she stayed with us for a whole week. She then helped the employees with the weekly food distribution. Her management skill was very effective for the distribution process. We appreciate volunteers like Mia Ramsden and we encourage more volunteer to come to The Dhaka Project and help us with their valuable knowledge and experience.

2nd Dubai Brownies @ The Dhaka Project

Representatives of the 2nd Dubai Brownies visited The Dhaka Project with a lot of donation and a present of USD $2068 yesterday. Karen Forbes, Kem Quick and Raty Mcdonald represented the team accompanied by their old friend Lizzie Mcmanus, 1st Secretary - Medical and Welfare, British High Commission.

All the representatives including Lizzie took the tour of the entire project and met few of our kids also. Later on the donation was handed to Mr. Korvi Rakshand, Project Director, at his office. They also discussed about how to get more people to sponsor more children. The Brownies also showed a lot of interest in helping the project in the near future.

The interesting thing is, all these donated materials and money was collected and gathered by non other then the young and energetic kids of the 2nd Dubai Brownies who cares about the children of The Dhaka Project. They realize that they are privileged and it their responsibility to Make A Difference in the lives these underprivileged children of Dhaka. It’s not the donations only, we are happy about the fact that the fingers which these discontented kids of The Dhaka Project are grabbing on.

A few years back we were in the path of uncertainty but due to such contribution from wonderful people we are determine about achieving the vision we saw for the betterment of the kids. Our strength is our supporters; our inspiration is the amazing kids and our motivation is these priceless smiles. The students the project tried their best to give them the warmest welcome. We believe any sort of contribution from one child of the 2nd Dubai Brownies is enough to wipe out every bit of tears of one slum’s kid of Dhaka. Our kids appreciate their help by including them in every prayer wishing a more prosperous life. We salute those kids whose humanity is the beam which ensure us a peaceful world to live in the future.

8 year Filler donates everything from his Birthday

Birthday means lots of gifts. Specially when it’s a birthday of an eight years old child it means a lot more than that. Toys, chocolates, colorful dresses and many more are dead hard to sacrifice for any such kids. But yes a bright eight years old child from the Fitter family thinks in the other way around. He thinks if sacrificing a chocolate can give a meal to a child then it’s worthy to sacrifice that meal, he thinks if sacrificing a toy can let a child have some medication then its worthy to give up toy. He believes if sacrificing a birthday party can bring smiles of 100s of untouched ones then any not doing it. As a result he requested all of his friends and family not to give him any gift but to donate money as a contribution to the underprivileged children of Dhaka. In the process he managed to raise a handsome amount of $716. Being so young he realized that the life he is leading is not even in the dreams of these children. He decided to try his best to give as much possible for these to these children.

We believe such contribution from more families is good enough to ensure education, medication and food of our six hundreds children. If other families follow the Fitters, every year these kids need not to worry about anything else. And we ensure that this much contribution of Fitter family is enough for us to work on and make our kids the leaders of the country in every aspect.

Urgent Medical Treatment

A recent family visit found a child to be suffering from chronic malnutrition, a fever and acute respiratory distress. The mother reported that baby had been ill for months with a cough, fever and breathing difficulties. The child was aged 18 months but only 5.2 kilograms in weight, weak and having difficulty breathing. The mother and child were admitted after two hospital visits and negotiation with the attending emergency doctor and two other assessing doctors, by both the family counselor and health centre coordinator. They are currently staying in a free bed at a children’s hospital quite some distance away from The Dhaka Project. It is anticipated that they will stay for at least five days for treatment and further investigations. Health care centre staff will continue to visit and support them as well as provide financial support so that the child’s father can visit the hospital and support the father to ensure he is able to care for their other two older children. A donation made it possible for medicines to be paid for, while medical investigations, food for the mother, the bed and general medical care are free. It is anticipated that they will stay for between five and seven days.

Local Volunteer's Coming Forward...

It’s a story about a cute little girl Prety Akter from pre-school. One day in the afternoon she was sleeping in our pre-school class room. Tanveer a local donor came and saw her smiling in sleep. He had no other option rather to take her financial responsibility for this year. We got the privilege to meet Tanveer in our sewing product’s exhibition. He got influenced by knowing about The Dhaka Project in the exhibition and decided to contribute. A week later he came to The Dhaka Project and visited the whole project and in the process he saw that incident of Prety Akter. He knows how much we care for our children and have full trust on us that his donation will go for the betterment of the girl’s future. Majestic personal like Tanveer made us believe that local community is also with us in the ride to a future where people can think of an educated, successful and dynamic child from the slums of Dhaka.

Few weeks after sponsoring he visited Prety with some books, pencils and other accessories for all the children. He also brought a delicious cake for her which he distributed among all the children in the pre-school. We believe all of our sponsor’s love the children of The Dhaka in the same way but most of them live far apart so it’s not possible for them to come and visit so frequent. They are always with us via mail and sending gifts for their sponsored children. We appreciate and thanks a million times for being so caring.

Happy Birthday Areeba

The Dhaka Project celebrated Birthday of Areeba with a cute little innocent girl from the slums of Dhaka named Kulsum. We gifted a nice dress and some delicious biscuits to Kulsum and we believe Areeba will appreciate it. Kulsum seemed to be the happiest girl of the world at that moment. We preserved those smiley moments of her in our camera and heart. We love her so does she and hope by virtue of our respected sponsors like Areeba we can gift a peaceful life for her to live in coming years. Areeba's vision for Kulsum is very high right from the beginning when she saw her in the slums and helped her to get admitted in The Dhaka Project. The Dhaka project responded to Areeba’s approach by taking full responsibility of the kid and taking good care of her. The Dhaka Project together with our sponsors like Areeba promised ourselves and promised those kids a future where no one will ever regret them, everybody will celebrate their success and there will be no room for failure.

Hand Washing Awareness Program @ The Dhaka Project

The Dhaka Project Health Care Centre team delivered their first Health Awareness workshop on Thursday January 15th 2009. The Health Care Centre promotion and education plan for 2009 includes weekly Education/Awareness workshops for students of The Dhaka Project and their family members. The initial aim is to increase health literacy among students and their families around health problems that currently present frequently at the Health Care Centre. The focus will later move to the wider community perhaps through Bangla movie screenings with health messages attached and other larger events.

Hand washing Day

The school children commonly present with diarrhoea, respiratory infections, eye infections and skin problems when they attend routine appointments with Dr Jahid. For this reason the team decided that the first health awareness focus would be hand washing. Evidence from other hand washing programmes indicates that it is possible to reduce the incidence of diarrhoea by 40% the incidence of acute respiratory infections by 30% and significantly reduce presentation with eye and skin infections, if correct hand washing techniques are maintained.

During the planning phase for the workshop it was decided that it is very important for family members to be involved in the training as the hand washing behaviour of an individual family member has an impact on the health of all. An as an added benefit neighbours and friends of family members may benefit and eventually family members who have a strong interest in looking after community health may be invited to train as Community Health Workers/Paramedics.

Ten students and their parents were invited to attend and participate in the first Hand Washing Day for 2009. Family members were invited personally during family visits in the week prior to the event and baseline data was collected. All mothers and fathers enthusiastically agreed to come along and seemed very happy to be invited. The students of The Dhaka Project are all very interested in learning anything new and attending extra programs, so it was not difficult to select the initial ten students. In fact many students were disappointed that they were not chosen for the first session.

As the children and family members arrived they were seated in family groups, each with an empty bowl, a cup of water, soap and a towel in preparation for the hand washing demonstration and then practice. An overview of the importance of correct hand washing with soap was given focusing on how this practice can prevent disease and when it is crucial to wash your hands (after toilet, before eating or preparing food, after cleaning a baby/child). A discussion then took place to find out whether the students and family members were aware of the kinds of illnesses are specifically related to poor hand washing technique or lack of hand washing with soap. There seemed to be strong awareness of the connection between diarhhoea and poor hand washing technique but less of an awareness that respiratory infections, skin conditions and eye infections could also be related to lack of hand washing.

After the discussion Dr Jahid explained the path of disease transmission in detail and the barriers to disease transmission using two posters that specifically developed, drawn and painted by the Health Care team to facilitate getting the message across. The posters will be used for future training and may become part of a training resource book for future Community Health Workers at The Dhaka Project.

Correct hand washing was then demonstrated using the technique recommended by the World Health Organisation. All family groups were then supervised to individually complete correct hand washing. Everyone showed that they had watched closely by enthusiastically rubbing and scrubbing their hands and leaving a lot of very dirty water in the basins.

The session continued with a Mena DVD to reinforce the hand washing and hygiene message, which adults and children alike really loved. Information was collected from each family using a survey developed by the Heath Care Centre team, focusing on health knowledge, attitude and practice.

The workshop finished with all families being presented with soap, hand washing instructions in Bangla from WHO (World Health Organization) and a laminated certificate of attendance. The workshops will now continue weekly until all students and family members have attended.