News
VAB School Expansion Exceeds Expectations
Starting with 20 rural schools in 2005, VAB has brought in 35 schools under its programs by 2011. Having gained experience on the effectiveness of its programs, the management was planning for an additional 15 schools in 2012. Fortunately, thanks to donor commitment, VAB was able to increase school sponsorships by 25, making the total sponsored schools to 60 this year. Another good news is that, of the new sponsored schools, 20 poorly performed schools were chosen from the depressed areas of Satkhira, Nilphamari and Kurigram in the northern part of Bangladesh.
VAB Approves Expansion Plan
In line with its Strategic Plan, VAB Board has approved on October 2, 2011, a plan for the sponsorship of additional 15 schools in 2012. Each new school will form a cluster with four other schools within the radius of 5 to 10 miles in rural areas of Bangladesh. Of the 15 schools, pledges for sponsorship of 11 schools with a yearly donation $2,500 each for five years have already been received.
VAB’s New Offices in New York and Dhaka
In an effort to be more responsive and efficient in administering and delivering its services in the USA and fieldwork in Bangladesh, VAB has moved to new office locations in both countries as of July 2011. For full details on both locations, Please click here.
VAB College Scholars Excel in HSC Exam
The recipients of VAB College Scholarships completed their college studies and took the national Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam. Their results were extraordinary — 96% success rate while the national rate was 75%. An HSC places our college scholars in an excellent position for productive employment in the emerging economy. Many may wish to enrich their human capital by pursuing higher education, particularly in engineering, medicine, sciences and business administration. VAB Patrons wishing to help them may contact us.
Teachers’ Training Program in English – 2011
A 4-day Training Program on English teaching for high school teachers from rural Bangladesh was held during July 9 to 12 at the Office of the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh (VAB) in Iqbal Road, Mohammadpur. Twenty teachers from Kurigram, Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Jessore, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narshingdi, Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Feni and Chandpur attended the training and were awarded Certificates in the concluding session on Tuesday, July 12. The Chairman of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of VAB-USA, Dr. Delwar Hussain and Mr. Matilal Pal, respectively, and Members of the Advisory Board of VAB-Bangladesh, Principal Hamida Ali, Professor Dara Shamsuddin, and Dr. Golam Mustafa, as well as Program Manager of VAB-Bangladesh, Mr. M A Alim Khan, were present during the Certificate Award Ceremony. Two Trainers from Mohammadpur Preparatory Higher Secondary School, Mr. Ashfaqul Islam and Mr. Shariful Islam, conducted the Training. VAB has a number of high school oriented programs, of which Scholarships to needy students and Teachers’ Training are prominent. Since 2004, VAB has provided training to 538 rural high school teachers in English, Mathematics, Science, Accounting and Computers.
July 12, 2011
Highlights of Management Group Meeting
In its first meeting held on October 2, 2011, the new VAB Management Group has adopted a number of measures including the ratification of the proposed amendment to the Bylaws to grant Chapter status to organizations in other areas, the implementation of school expansion plan, and the development of a comprehensive Database for monitoring and evaluation of various VAB programs.