T h e D u k e o f E d i n b u r g h ’ s I n t e r n a t i o n a l A w a r d B a n g l a d e s h
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Editor: Professor M Manjurul Karim Member, EC, The DEA Foundation BD and Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka
National Director: Prof. Dr. K. M. Shariful Huda
Board of Trustees The DEA Foundation BD
M M Ispahani Limited Mr. Mirza Salman Ispahani Chairman, The Board of Trustees and Managing Director, M M Ispahani Ltd.
GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd. Mr. M Azizul Huq Honarary Secretary, The Board of
Trustees and
Managing Director, GSK Bangladesh
Standard Chartered Bangladesh Mr. Jim McCabe Treasurer, The Board of Trustees and CEO, Standard Chartered Bangladesh,
A K Khan & Company Ltd. Mr. A K Shamsuddin Khan Member, The Board of Trustees and Chairman, A K Khan Group
Concorde Garments Group Mr. Sayeeful Islam Member, The Board of Trustees and
Managing Director, Concorde Garments
Rangoonwala Foundation UK Mr. Tariq Rangoonwala Member, The Board of Trustees
and Chairman, Rangoonwala Foundation UK
Rangoonwala Foundation UK Nawab Khwaja Habibullah Askari Member, The Board of Trustees
Editor's Letter
his issue of newsletter of The Duke of Edinburgh‟s Award (DEA)
Foundation comes to you as greetings of Holy Eid-Ul-Fitr, Eid
Mubarak from the entire DEA family. The DEA family is now
extended beyond Dhaka and Chittagong, and we look forward
to cover every corners of Bangladesh, and thereby aim to
stretch the beauty of the award to the youngsters. Those who are
already graduated with Gold Awards, an Association for them have
recently been launched; this will further create Award Leaders from
them with a view to strengthening the Award philosophy to fresh
entrants. The story of a Gold Award Holder, Farhana Meghami, as you
find inside could be cited for example as we wish to create change
makers for the society. The DEA office is now in full preparation to be
validated and get full license from The DEA International Office early
next year. Let‟s hope for the ultimate recognition. Happy reading!
Richel Baroi
Award Coordinator & Vice Principal, Primary Section, Oxford International School
wish I had this type of challenge in my childhood! I get to choose
my own activities which will reflect my interests and passions! To
unleash my talents and broaden personal interests and skills –
what possibly can be better than this!
At the beginning of my career, I had made a vow, where I wrote with
invisible ink in my heart that, ‟ I will teach, lead and guide my students in
best possible way to make them better human being‟. If I look at the
back, I hardly can console myself in my performance appraisal about this
promise to myself. This is the point where I felt lucky to get chance to be
involved with this DEA programme.
May be I could not be the lucky one to avail this opportunity; but, I can be a guide, assist my students in their life, keep them motivated on target, help set their goals and inspire them! And now it has been possible because I am not only a teacher to teach them formal education but also an Award Coordinator of The Duke of Edinburgh‟s International Award to inculcate informal education, because they are participants of this world‟s most prestigious Award programme where they need not to compete with anyone to have the story of success in their life. I feel so much better now.
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I
Volume 3 (3) Published: July 2014
Feel the Award > Do the Award > Spread the Award
T h e D u k e o f E d i n b u r g h ’ s I n t e r n a t i o n a l A w a r d B a n g l a d e s h
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of Adventurer Journey Khairul IslamTaj (Silver Award Participants)
n the fixation of date, we started our long
anticipated journey of Silver Level of The Duke
of Edinburgh International Award Programme,
on 20 February 2014. After a long agony of expectations,
a group of ten members including me and the tour
operator Prasanta Majumdar, boarded the Chittagong
Mail. Two attractive places –Sitakunda and Patenga Sea
Beach –awaited us at the end of the long ride.
Instead of a luxurious compartment, we opted for the
general coach as we wanted to share the experience of
the common masses. However, to our dismay, after
twenty minutes of journey, when the train stopped at the
airport station a large multitude of people seized the
chamber leaving no empty space even to breathe. It was
alarmingly chaotic and soon we submitted ourselves to
fate and reminding us of our grandiose promise, we
turned to concentrate on ourselves only. Amidst our
boisterous moments, a provision of snacks provided
some relief.
With the dawn approaching, gradually we were able to
look outside the window. Flanked by varied geographies,
our train was darting past the greenish fields, tall trees
and small mountains until we stopped at Sitakunda
Station. Our first adventure started here, mounting the
1565 feet high Chandranath Hill. Its majesty was awe-
inspiring when I glanced at it.
Under the scorching sun, we began our arduous climbing
at ten o‟clock in the morning. In our two and half an hour
climbing, we had to pause several times to breathe and
drink water. Happily, the security was reassuring and we
were pleased to see hundreds of fellow climber up there.
Though it strained on our physical aptitude, the feeling
upon the completion of the challenge was inspiring. The
canopy of trees and a vast array of undulating land
soothed my eyes as I gazed upon standing on the top.
The following morning brought us to Potenga beach, a
place that touched my heart. The vast stretch of water
gave me a sense of magnitude and soon I found myself
knee deep in water. It was the ebbing time but we had our
fun darting across the sandy shore and splashing upon
the water. I had moments in treasure as I rode on a speed
boat, surfed and took loads of photos. A horse ride that
was completely unexpected added to my happiness.
O
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The opportunity was a life changing experience having
two days in the lap of nature. I never imagined we had
such majestic places in our country. I discovered that I
have a part of me that was quite unknown to me before. I
felt free there as my spirit rose high. I had abundance of
fun and experience that I still cherish. I would very much
like to be a part of any journey that is as much exciting as
this one.
Meeting Success he Award includes 9 proved impacts apart from
many tangible and intangible benefits. Improving
employability and sustainable livelihoods is one of
those positive impacts the Award has. Those dabbed on
not only the Awardees of other countries but also that of
Bangladesh.
Farhana Meghami Zulhash who is a current student of
American International University, Bangladesh is a name
of inspiration to all youths of Bangladesh. Her
achievement could once again show the world how the
Award changes life and plays a vital role in providing
opportunities for young people to develop essential life
skills, complimenting their formal education or work place.
„In Bangladesh, 80% of the population is aged less than
40, meaning that there is, and will continue to be, huge
pressure on employment. The country needs young
people who are skilled for work, but also entrepreneurs
who can create their own businesses and employment‟.
Young people like Farhana, 23, from Dhaka, who
completed their Award, developed that capability are
more worthy to meet real life challenges to implement the
dream.
Farhana's entrepreneurial skills were honed while she
completed her Service section at the Bangladesh
Association of the Aged elderly home. What she saw
there inspired her to create a groundbreaking project to
empower its elderly female residents, and many other
women in her local community.
She had noticed that there were many female residents
who did not need to be there, but who had nowhere else
to go because their families couldn‟t support them and
they could not support themselves financially. Once she
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- Vincent Van Gogh
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discovered that these women were gifted with handicraft
and patchwork skills which they weren‟t using, she set up
a business which involved the residents selling handmade
jute baskets and exquisite textiles, while passing on their
skills to young women. Foreign buyers signed up for
regular purchases and these women were recognized for
the first time in their lives for their ingenuity and talent.
Farhana estimates that around 900 women have now
benefited from this project to empower them
economically. Women such as Renu are happy to testify
to how their lives have changed as a result: “I feel I can
now earn my own living as this initiative has given me a
chance to actually discover the hidden talents that I
have.”
Not surprisingly, being able to demonstrate these kinds of
entrepreneurial skills has helped Farhana to land her own
job with one of her dream employers: the UN. “After my
first conference of representing the Award on behalf of my
country, I came across another seminar where I placed
my presentation in front of valued members of the United
Nations. They acknowledged my journey with the Award
and were also very pleased with the activities I had
completed.”
he Members of The Board of Trustees of The
Duke of Edinburgh‟s Award Foundation,
Bangladesh (The DEA Foundation BD)
collaboratively hosted a reception function to honor the
contributions of the Heads of the Educational Institutions,
Award Coordinators and Award Leaders of the Award
Units at Heritage Restaurant, Gulshan-2, on Saturday, 25
January 2014.
The programme inaugurated through a welcome speech
delivered by National Director Professor Dr. K. M.
Shariful Huda. The occasion became a meeting place of
prominent personalities where British High
Commissioner to Bangladesh, His Excellency Robert
Winnington Gibson CMG graced the programme as
Chief Guest. Among the Members of Board of Trustee of
The DEA Foundation, BD, Mr. Jim McCabe, CEO,
Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh, Mr. M Azizul
Huq, Managing Director, GSK Bangladesh, Mr. A K
Shamsuddin Khan, Chairman, A K Khan Group were
present. Members of Executive Committee of The DEA
Foundation, BD also joined the Programme.
T
Challenges are what make life
interesting and overcoming
them is what makes life
meaningful. - Joshua J. Marine
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Host Mr. Mirza Salman Ispahani, Chairman, The DEA
Foundation Bangladesh and Managing Director, M M
Ispahani Ltd., congratulated all the participants for their
passionate effort to help the youths of the country.
DEA ith a mission to reach the Award to all walks of
youths, The National Award Authority (the NAA)
in Bangladesh is working ceaselessly. As a
result, the Award is available not only in Dhaka
and Chittagong but also Rangpur, Rajshahi and
Sylhet districts. The vision the NAA cherishes is to cover
all of the divisions and later on all the Upazillas
progressively, but obviously not forgetting those intuitions
that are yet to be Award Units in the green areas.
Recently few institutions formally opened The Award
programme for their students-
1. Summerfield International School (SIS),
Dhaka: SIS started the activities of The Award
Programme through a Launching Program on 16
February 2014 at Senior Section of the School. Host
Honorable Principal Ms. Anjum Husain, Principal, SIS,
Dhaka, cordially thanked The NAA_BD officials for
supporting SIS to run the programme for the students.
She formally launched the programme and announced to
make it compulsory for all eligible students of the school.
2. Shahjalal University of Science & Technology
(SUST), Sylhet: After signing the Award Unit Operator‟s
License in January 2014, SUST formally launched the
the Duke of Edinburgh‟s International Award on 25 June
2014. Prof. Dr. Aminul Huq Bhuiyan, Honorable Vice
Chancellor graced the occasion as Chief Guest and
introduced the programme for the students of the
University. The Award Coordinator Prof. Dr. Muhammed
Younus, addressed the students highlighting the value of
the Award Programme. A formal presentation on the
Award was presented by Mr. Faisal Hossen, Executive
of The DEA Foundation BD.
3. Anandaniketan, Sylhet: As of 25 March 2014,
Anandaniketan opened the Award to all of its students.
Ms. Shameem Chowdhury, Academic Head, formally
inaugurated its operation in the school that observed 50
students enrolled for their Bronze Award on the
launching date.
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The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Foundation Bangladesh
House # 412 (Flat C), Lane # 07 (West), Baridhara DOHS, Dhaka Cantonment, Dhaka- 1216 Tel: 02-8414344
Web: www.deabd.org Email: [email protected]
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