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News 2008
Golden Victory Award for Aloshikha (December 4, 2008)
On 1 December 2008, Mridul Halder, director of Aloshikha in Bangladesh received the Human Rights & Environment Reporter Society (MAPSAS) Golden Victory Award 2008 on behalf of the Aloshikha Foundation. Aloshikha was awarded the award for its contribution to local health care. Its Mother and Child Clinic and 10 doctor’s offices mean standard healthcare can be provided, and the water wells dug by Aloshikha, the latrines it builds and the education and information it provides, mean fewer children die as a result of diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery and polio.
The Golden Victory Award is an annual award given to people or organisations that make a substantial contribution to health care. A jury makes the final decision on which nominee is to win the award.
Emergency generator repaired (October 26, 2008)
Just as the power supply was restored by the Bengali government following cyclone Sidr, the emergency generator on the Aloshikha RSDC compound broke down. The generator is needed for when the mains network cuts off – something which usually happens a few times a day. This is particularly problematic for the operating theatre in the Mother and Child clinic when operations are being undergone. If there’s no supply from the mains network and no emergency generator, work has to be done by torch light. And because the new parts for the generator had to be imported from Europe, it was out of order for a number of months.
The warm, humid climate in Bangladesh means metal equipment rusts fairly quickly, so parts wear out and need replacing more frequently. Last year, the radiator in the generator started to leak and a replacement cost € 1,000. This time a number of parts had worn out and repairs cost 390,500 Bengalese taka (€ 4,000). The Aloshikha Foundation has covered the costs.
Work on new hospital extension officially started (August 4, 2008)
Building work on the new extension to the hospital was officially started on 4 august 2008. The two-storey extension will house a new operating theatre and three new patient rooms and is expected to cost over € 22,000. The current operating theatre was becoming too small due to all the equipment needed during operating. On completion of the new extension mid-2009, the old operating theatre will be converted into a trauma room for emergencies.
All of the rooms in the hospital have also recently had new modular ceilings placed and been fitted with new furniture. The old ceilings were dilapidated and dust and dirt regularly fell through the holes in the ceilings into the rooms – a situation which is obviously undesirable for reasons of hygiene. What’s more, the old furniture was completely worn out. Thanks to the new ceilings, the new furniture and a splash of paint on the walls, the hospital now once more looks spick and span.
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Restaurant for patients and hospital visitors (July 20, 2008)
Patients in the mother-and-child clinic and their family have since recently been able to buy ready-made meals in a small and simple restaurant right next to the clinic. Mrs Bakul Nulig (40) set up her small restaurant directly opposite the hospital chemist’s using a loan from Aloshikha RSDC’s micro-credit programme.
Patients and visitors can buy food there 24 hours a day and the facility is also open to local residents. Breakfast costs between 15 and 25 taka (€ 0.15 - € 0.25) and a lunch or dinner costs between 30 and 50 taka (€ 0.30 - € 0.50), depending on the composition of the meal (usually rice, vegetables and fish). Patients unable to pay can enjoy a free meal courtesy of Aloshikha RSDC. For the patients in the hospital , the restaurant offers a real improvement as family members no longer need to cook for them.
Dance and music lessons at all preschools (June 25, 2008)
Over the past few months, all of the 40 Aloshikha preschools and two kindergardens have been having dance and music lessons. A new teacher was appointed especially for the job.
The Aloshikha Foundation has financed the purchase of music instruments and dance outfits for all 42 schools, so each school now has an harmonium, two drums, a tamborine, bronze finger cymbals and 40 bamboo flutes. Special dance outfits have also been bought for the children.
The dance teacher travels to each of the schools to help the preschool teachers give dance and music lessons to the children. The aim is to develop the children’s creativity and, in that respect, they are a worthwhile addition to the art and activity lessons the children have been receiving for the past few years.
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Damage from Sidr storm repaired (May 16, 2008)
In our news item on 29 January 2008, we described how emergency relief and aid were being provided for recovery after cyclone Sidr, including the distribution of € 19,000 worth of food packages to over 4,000 families. A second anonymous doner provided € 6,000 which was used for the reconstruction of buildings in the Aloshika area.
The € 25,000 donated by the Aloshikha Foundation went towards the repair of 17 ‘PRIMA’ community buildings and helped 920 families rebuild their bamboo and corrugated iron huts.
A donation of € 5,000 from the VieCuri Medical Centre in North-Limburg was used to repair the roof of the hospital as well as rebuild the garage and fix the ambulance after they were damaged in the storm.
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Preschool Bashile rebuilt following storm (April 25, 2008)
In our news item on 20 February 2008, we announced that the teachers and pupils of St. Jozef’s primary school in Tegelen had dedicated their Lent fasting campaign to the Bashile preschool in Bangladesh. The roof of the preschool was ripped off when cyclone Sidr hit on 15 November 2007.
The school’s campaign raised € 740 and has paid for a new roof for the school in Bashile.
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Aloshikha Foundation receives a cheque for € 5,000 (March 21, 2008)
The staff at the VieCuri Medical Centre for North Limburg have chosen the Aloshikha Foundation as the charity to receive their Christmas gift for 2007. Each year, staff at the Medical Centre choose a different charity project to donate the fund to. The projects are nominated by Centre staff closely involved in the projects and this year, Wim van der Sterren (left on the photo), one of Aloshikha’s volunteers, nominated the Foundation for the fund to help towards the costs of repairing health care facilities after the damage caused by Cyclone Sidr.
We were overjoyed to hear that the staff at the VieCuri Medical Centre had chosen Wim’s project by majority and on Wednesday 20 March 2008, the cheque for € 5,000 was presented to the Foundation by the Board of the VieCuri Medical Centre.
Fasting for Bangladesh (February 20, 2008)
Teachers and pupils at St Jozef’s primary school in Tegelen have dedicated their 2007-2008 Lent fasting campaign to the Bashile preschool in Bangladesh. The roof of the preschool was ripped off by strong winds during cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh on 15 November 2007.
Aloshikha Foundation board members visited St Jozef’s school to talk to the 300 pupils about the education and living conditions of children in Bangladesh. The theme of the campaign is ‘caring and sharing with children your age in a poor country that are living and growing up in difficult circumstances’. The campaign is running from 18 February to 5 March and the proceeds will go towards repairing the roof of the preschool in Bashile.
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Emergency relief and aid for recovery after Cyclone Sidr (January 29, 2008)
In our last message on 15 November 2007, we described how Bangladesh was hit by Cyclone Sidr.
Aloshikha Foundation board members flew out at their own expense to the area Aloshikha operates in to see the effects of the cyclone for themselves. The damage has been truly substantial. Many tin and bamboo houses have been destroyed, either by falling trees or raging winds of 260km/h, and numerous people have been left homeless.
After a thorough investigation into the extent of the damage, emergency relief and aid for the recovery process has been provided. An anonymous donation has provided € 19,000 worth of food and more than 4,000 families have received food packages. A second anonymous donor has provided € 6,000 for the reconstruction of buildings in the Aloshikha area.
The Aloshikha Foundation has donated a total of € 25,000. The funds will go towards the repair of 17 ‘PRIMA’ community buildings and help 1,000 families rebuild their bamboo or corrugated iron huts.
The VieCuri Medical Centre in North-Limburg has also made € 5,000 available for the repair of health care facilities.
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