Supporting modern mental health care

Angelo and Sagoon demonstrating non-violent crisis intervention to clinical staff

In June, BHP volunteer Angelo Leo, a Canadian psychiatric nurse with broad international experience, spent three weeks at Sajida Foundation’s The Hub, one of Dhaka's few specialist mental health hospitals. Angelo has vast experience in mental health and dementia care from many years working in hospital and community settings. In his “retirement”, he volunteers with Jaya Mental Health, an NGO based in UK and Nepal, and with Canadian Red Cross International providing psycho-social support to people affected by major disasters around the world. This was not his first visit to Dhaka: in 2012, Angelo spent a semester as Visiting Faculty at IUBAT College of Nursing, also as a BHP volunteer.

BHP has provided technical assistance to The Hub for several years through both on-site and distance support. Two or more times each week volunteers based in Canada have provided training and mentoring sessions via video link. Three other Canadian volunteers also spent time on-site in Dhaka prior to Angelo’s recent visit. Working with Sagoon K.C, a Nepalese colleague from Jaya, Angelo delivered training in de-escalation and violence prevention to the clinical staff through workshops and role plays. In dialogue sessions, managers and clinical teams problem-solved challenges common to both Bangladesh and Nepal related to social stigma about mental illness, shortages of staff and limited therapy options aside from medication. The team also ran skills development sessions for local trainers from Sajida’s other health programs.

Congratulations to IUBAT BScN graduate

 Rubel Hossain, lecturer at IUBAT College of Nursing, writes: Tamanna Akter grew up in a rural village in south-eastern Bangladesh. After completing high school, she followed her dream to our College of Nursing to pursue a BSc in Nursing (BSN). She comments on this experience:

"IUBAT supported both my academic and professional growth. The medium of instruction, English, helped me a lot and the nursing curriculum improved my critical thinking skills. I am thankful to Professor Dr. M. Alimullah Miyan, who encouraged me to build my career globally, to the IUBAT nursing faculty and also Dr. Karen Lund and our visiting faculty for motivating me to improve my knowledge, skills, and confidence."

Tamanna completed her BScN in December 2019 and went on to complete a master’s in public health from Daffodil International University. She worked as a lecturer at Universal Nursing College and STS Nursing College. Recently, Tamanna achieved a major milestone by passing the NCLEX-RN Exam and becoming licensed with the New York State Board of Nursing.

Reflecting on her journey, Tamanna shared: "Preparing for the NCLEX while taking care of my two babies and managing family life was very challenging. I thank Almighty Allah for keeping my hope alive. I believed I could succeed, and was fortunate to have my husband’s support, taking care of our children while I studied." IUBAT College of Nursing is so proud of Tamanna Akter’s achievement. Her professional journey to nurse registration in USA is an inspiration to all our students!

Hands-on training for job skills

The sixth semester students of Civil Engineering Technology at Oasis Institute for Science and Technology are currently conducting practical classes as part of their Advanced Surveying course under the national curriculum. Through these field-based exercises, students are learning real-world applications of topographic surveying.

The practical sessions are feasible because a generous donation by David, a Canadian donor, enabled purchase of industry-standard surveying technology. His contribution is helping students move beyond textbook learning and gain direct experience in field work.

At OIST, many students come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.  Access to advanced engineering equipment strengthens their technical competence, confidence and employability. Operating modern surveying instruments is an essential competency for civil engineering professionals involved in construction, infrastructure development, road alignment, land surveying, GIS mapping and urban planning.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to David for continuously supporting technical education and empowering the next generation of engineers through his donations. We are grateful to all our donors - your support is helping build skills, dignity, opportunity and a better future.