Volunteers Association for Bangladesh (VAB)

   Sixth Annual Report 2004

As most of you know, Bangladesh is a difficult country in which to try to improve high school education.  The country is poor.  Schools have very tight budgets and teachers are low paid.  Schools are struggling to change from rote learning while at the same time having to prepare students for national exams, which are based on memorization.  Teachers have to deal with 60 or more students per class.  In addition, floods this year were at a 75 year level (18 VAB schools were flooded), late in the year there have been hartals (country- wide strikes), and approval by the Bangladesh Government for release of funds was delayed for 9 months.

In this setting, it has been a very successful year for VAB’s school programs.  The success is due to your contributions, the grant from Operation Days Work, an affiliate of U.S. AID, and to our Bangladesh staff who were contracted through Prakritajan, a Bangladesh NGO.  A big thanks to all of you.

The fact that we have reached and exceeded our goals is an exceptional achievement.  The Scholarship Program has been operating for five years.  This year scholarships were awarded by 23 school committees (the goal was 20 schools) to 460 students (the goal was 400) in classes IX and X.  The scholarships are for meritorious students from families earning below $50 per month.  The scholarships cover books, educational materials, clothing, examination fees.  This year we instituted teacher training in English one-day and Math one-day for 40 teachers from 23 schools.  The schools were excited enough to pay for the teachers transportation.  Six schools were selected for our Modernization Program (the original goal was four).  Each school was provided with science laboratory equipment, books for a library, sporting goods and cultural equipment and funds to tutor class X students for the national exam.  Two computers each were provided to 4 schools; the other two already had computers. Schools were required to supply adequate and secure storage and teaching facilities. 

The highlight of the year was teacher training.  The Bangladesh Government has recently instituted a new curriculum but has not provided training leaving the teachers feeling quite lost and unsure of themselves.  In addition to the training under the Scholarship Program, VAB provided 8 schools with 2 and 3 days courses in Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Library Management, Computer Teaching and English.  In all, 33 teachers participated in one or more sessions for a total of 824 teacher-hours of instruction.  The volunteer trainers were experts in their fields and represented local colleges, Dhaka University and business professionals.  The teachers and their schools were very appreciative and urging more training next year.

The floods were extremely bad this year.  Volunteer teams from VAB and Prakritajan were very busy soliciting local funds and supplies and delivering emergency supplies to 15 VAB schools.  Each school received 50 packages of food and medicine.  Additionally, the team members, mostly professional doctors and teachers, carried relief goods and medicines from their own sources.

VAB, under the auspices of the New Jersey Chapter, has begun a Computer Literacy Program.  So far the CLP has collected and shipped 225 computers to Bangladesh and are in the process of rehabilitating them.  In 2005, 22 sites will be selected (some will be VAB schools), teachers trained, and four computers for each site will be provided. In addition, CLP will provide management/maintenance for a year.

The last, but by no means less significant, goal for this year was to register VAB as a foreign NGO in Bangladesh.  We are now big enough and it is happening.  The VAB Advisory Board and the VAB Executive Board have been organized.  All documents have been submitted for approval by the Bangladesh Government.  Policies and procedures are being drafted.  With NGO status in Bangladesh, VAB will have a more direct role in implementing its activities and will have a more focused approach to our program.

Fund raising in 2004 has increased significantly from prior years.  The total funds raised amounted to $65,417 from 202 donors: 190 individuals and 12 institutional.   This is a significant increase from past years’ giving.  There were 99 new donors. Several donors contributed more than once: 40 did twice; 20 three times and two donors made contribution four times.  VAB is keeping our administrative expenses at a minimum.  Expenses for all VAB administration in the US was$ 2,622 which included $1,485 as the cost of publicity and a fundraising dinner. Total expenses amounted to 4 percent of our receipts; however excluding publicity and the fundraising dinner, expenses for 2004 are below 2% of VAB's total receipts for the year.

We congratulate all donors for their interest and support for VAB.  Now we need to keep the momentum building.  VAB added the Modernization Program this year.  We are now big enough that in addition to the VAB volunteers, we need some part-time paid staff in the U.S. to keep up with accounting, newsletter and fund raising.  

	2004  DONORS
A.I. Engineers, Inc.	Dr. & Mrs. Tareq Abedin	Mr. & Mrs. Abu N. Abdullah
Mr. Ronald Adams	Mr. Quzi M. Ahmed	Dr. & Mrs. Shamsul Akhand
Dr. & Mrs. Taher Akhand	Mr. & Mrs. Steve Akram	Dr. & Mrs. Ashraful Alam
Mr. Mohammad S. Alam	Mr. Sazed Ali	Dr. & Mrs. Quazi s. Al-Tariq
Dr. & Mrs. Azad A. Amin	Mr. & Mrs. Akbar Younus Ansari	Dr. & Mrs.Mohammad  Anwar Ullah
Mr. & Mrs. Mark Armbruster	Dr. Martin Asness	Bangladesh Medical Association, N.A.
Dr. Bhola N. Banik	Mr. & Mrs. Jim Bausch	Mr. Robert &  Marilyn W. Beecher
Dr. Monowara Begum	Ms. Carrie Berman & Howard Belk	Dr. Tony Bennett
Mr. & Mrs. F.K. Berlew	Mr. Mohammad A. Bhuiyan	Dr. Wadud Bhuyan
Dr. M. Billa	Mr. Gary Boldt
Mr. & Mrs. Chakravarti	Mr. & Mrs. Abu Chowdhury	Mr. Mahfuz R. Chowdhury
Dr. Mohammad M. R.Choudhury	Dr. and Mrs. Mustafa Chowdhury	Dr. & Mrs. Fazlur R. Chowdhury
Mr. & Mrs. Fayezul  Hoque Chowdhury	Dr. Mohammad S. Chowdhury	Dr. & Mrs. Mujibul Gani Chowdhury
Mr. Samir Chowdhury	Dr. Waled H. Chowdhury	Mr.Zahid Zubair/Ms. Wasifa Chowdhury
Mr. & Mrs. Ziauddin Chowdhury	Mr. Peter von Christierson	Circle Road Trade & Translation LLC
Mr. & Mrs.  P.F. Cochran	Dr. Jeanne-Marie Col	Mr. Richard P. Cronin
Danbury CT Lions Charities, Inc.	Dr. Asoke Das	Delwara Chowdhury’s Fundraising
Dr. Sachidlal Dhar	Mr. John Oliver Doern	Ms. Ruth Downing
Drishtipat C/O Mr. Asif Saleh	Ms. Mary Frances Dunham
Ms. Deborah Eisenbeg	Ms. Patricia Ekman	Dr. Jean Ellickson & Mr. Bazlul Karim
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Q. Eschweiker	Dr.& Mrs. Mohammad Farooque	Mr.& Mrs. James Fisher
Mr. Charles A. & Birgetta Heron	Dr.& Mrs. Golam Gazi
Mr. Robert F. George	Ms. Emily Gilman	r
Mr. & Mrs. Mark D. Goldstein	Ms. Leslie C. Gottlieb	Ms. Patti Gray
Dr. William B. Greenough III M.D	Ms. Ara Gulshan	Dr. Tahira Habib, M.D
Syeda Hafiz	Mr. & Mrs. Qazi A. Halim	Ms. Lauren W. Halperin
Dr. A.S.M., Haque M.D	Mr. Mohammad A. Haque	Mr. Mohammad N. Haque
Mr. & Mrs. Ahmad B. Hasan	Mr. & Mrs. Bill Hein	Dr. Abu Nasar Ehsanul- Hoque
Dr. Mominul Hoque	Mrs.  Rahat N. Hossain	Dr. Sandra S. Houts
Mr. & Mrs. Ernie Howell	Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Hunter	Dr.  & Mrs. A.M. Abdul Huq
Dr. & Mrs. Obaidul M. Huq	Mr. Manzur & Dr. Rokeya Huq	Mr. Murad Husain
Drs. Delwar Hussain	Dr. Dilruba Hussian	Mr. Iqbal F. Hussain
Dr. & Mrs. Muhammad Hussain	Mr. & Mrs. M. Ayub Iqbal	Ms. Dayla Inhaber
Mr. Sharif Islam	Mr. & Mrs. Syed Samiul Islam	Islamic Society OF Baltimore
Jamaic Muslim Center Inc.	Ms. Nina Rahman Jamaly	Mr. Zafar M. Jawaid
Mr. Shamim A. Jewel	Dr. Virginia Kanick	Mr. Zakiul Kabir
MST Kamrunnahar	Mr. Ekramul Karim	Mr. Mohammad H. & Asma F. Khan
Mr. William S. Kaufman	Mr. Mahbubur Khan	Mr. Masud Khan
Mr. Mohammad A. Khan	Dr. Jahangir M. Khan	Drs. Sufian/Sultana Khondker
Mr. & Mrs. Kirmani	Ms. Lori Kleppe	Ms. Marcia Koff
Ms. Eileen Koffler	Mr. Stanley Leyden	Liberty Avenue Pharmacy,Inc.
Ms. Cecilia Lotse	Mr. Mark Lindberg
Ms. Yanjing Lu		Mr. Peter McDonough
Mr. Shafiq U. & Farida Khan	Dr. David Miller	Mr. Faiz Mohiuddin
Ms. Marsha Morton	Mr. Syed Muzaffar	Dr. Nurun Nabi
Mr. Rajat Nag	Ms. Ayesha D. Nazmi	Ms. Denis Nolasco
Mr. John Nonna	C/O Barabara for Oscar G. & Elsa	Mr. Andrey Ostrowsky
	Dr. Mati Pal	Ms. Shyla Pathy
Mr. Mahesh Pati	Dr. John  Pike	Ms. Donna R. Pritula
Quick Copy Plus	Mr. Saiyed Rabbani
Dr. Abu T.R. & Saleha Rahman	Mrs. Mala Rahman	Mr. Mohammad R. Rahman
Ms. Anita Rahman	Dr. Reaz Rahman
Dr. Raisur Rahman	Mr. Mujib U. Rahman	Mr. Kazi Afzalur Rahman
Mr. Muhammed M.Rahman	Mrs. Nasrin  Rahman
Dr. Ehsan Rahman
Md. Mizanur Rahman	Mr. Fazlur Rahman	Mrs. Shelly H. Rahman
Mr. George Rainer	Mr. M. Abdur Rashid	Dr. Mohmd/Mrs.MalihaRashiduz/Zaman
Mr. Mohammed Razzaque	Ms. Laura A. Rose	Mr. Mohammad Sadeq
Mr. Shibazi& Mrs. Shyamali Saha	Dr. Saroz Devi Sandberg	Mr. Mohammad Saleh
Mr. Mahhammad& Mrs. Rehana Saquib	Mr. A. F. Sarkar	Dr. Hasan,M.D. & Carol A. Sarwar
	Mrs. Laurie Stanford Saylak	Mr. Daniel T. Scheerer
Mr. Abu Y. M. Selim	Dr. Chowdhury M. Shamim
Mr. Abdul A. Siddiqui	Mr. Shahriar Shikdar	Mr. Charles Simonson
Ms. Janice Starr	Mrs. Nasreen Suhrawardy	Mr. Sayed T. Sultan
Mr. Aftabuddin Syed	Mr. Karamat & Mrs. Ghousia Syed	Dr. Shakil U. Syed
Ms. Soma & Md. A Raheem Syed	Mr. Mohammad & Mrs. Rashida Taher
Ms. Tamara Tazreen	Mr. Paul & Barbara  Theberge	VAB  NJ Group C/O Dr. Amzad Khan
Ms. Katrina Vidal	Ms. Atiya Wahab	Weber Fine Art of Greenwich Inc.
Ms. Elizabeth R. Whitney		Mr. Hubert & Mrs. Jaqueline Wilke
Mrs. June & Mr. Neil Winward	Mr. Charles & Mrs. Joanne Young	Ms. Dorothy & Mr. David Yewer
Mr. Abdullah Zahid	Dr. Muhammed R. Zakaria M.D.	Dr. Moneeka  Zaman, M.D.
Mr. Syed Nuruz & Mrs. Shefa Zaman	Mr. Syed Nuruz Zaman