By Neeharika Tummala | In-The-Field Rep - Bangladesh
The following is a postcard from Neeharika Tummala, GlobalGiving's In-the-Field Representative in India and Bangladesh, about her recent visit to OBAT Helpers Inc.
OBAT was one of my most favorite organizations in Bangladesh. For the first time since I entered Bangladesh, I could converse in Urdu! A language that is native to my city of Hyderabad. But mostly, I love this organization because despite the sad conditions of the community and camps, the staff is very positive, extremely hardworking and focused on ushering in a new future for this community through education.
I visited OBAT pre-schools, primary and middle schools. The pre-schools are cheerful and have a bright atmosphere, a stark contrast to the slum outside the schools doors. Kids love the games which include math and memory work as well as the rhymes that allow them to the learn language. In the primary and the middle schools, the kids look like students from any other primary school – well groomed in their uniforms and ready with OBAT notebooks and backpacks. OBAT has custom curriculum for their schools that focuses on developing motor skills and language faster. Some of the senior students that I visited were busy writing their exams and they were so focused, they said a quick hello and continued the writing frenzy.
All the teachers are from the communities themselves. While some of the teachers are seniors there are others who are young university grads attending masters. I thought it was brilliant to encourage students to get their masters, work and contribute to their communities at the same time. These teachers are some of the most motivated teachers I have ever seen and the energy in each classroom is amazing.
While I was at OBAT, I also met a visiting Canadian Professor, teaching at the American University for Women. Her class is on internally displaced persons (IDP’s) and it was really interesting for me to get her perspective of the camps. In addition to learning the history, it was a huge eye opener because I was seeing the aftermath of partition of India and then Pakistan, some 43 years after the liberation war. As I walked through the camps and met some elderly women, I heard stories of their memories from India, migration, settlement, the war and how they got here. Never did any of them imagine that their lives would change so drastically. The camps are plagued with problems from overpopulation, sanitation problems, unemployment, lack of water and resources. But despite all of this, OBAT is looking to the future and with such hardworking kids, the future looks bright.
By Saima Hassan | Director Development and Communications
By Saima Hassan | Director Development and Communications
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