Dear All
Thankyou so much for your continued support of Nijera Shikhi in Bangladesh. The families of the children who are befitting from your financial contributions are so very grateful that the school keeps open for the education of their children.
Taking advantage of a long weekend in India in March, where I am currently usually working ( for the Hindu festival of Holi), I decided to take a visit to Dhaka to visit the NS school, and to encourage them in their work, in March this year. It was good to be able to see the work they are still doing, and to be able to give you an update. I am actually in the UK for a short break (till June 8th) so I finally have found the time to write to you.
On the Saturday evening, I celebrated the breaking of the fast with Raden Siddiqui and his family, at his sisters house, where she looks after their mother Professor Suraiya Siddiqui who was the guiding light of Nijera Shikhi but now is suffering with severe dementia, and is unable to lead the organisation. On the Sunday morning, 16th March 2025, Mrs Rezia Salam, the Chair, had called a Board Meeting, at the Institute of Graphics, Sat Masjid Road, where the current director of Nijera Shikhi, Md Abdul Hamid had attended in the past and still had connections. There was an excellent turnout of 8 people, all interested and committed to the work of Nijera Shikhi, and we heard the reports of the John P Hastings School and went through the business of the last few years activity of Nijera Shikhi. At present there are 57 students in total, in 5 classes – 20 in the primary class, 15 in Class 2, 10 in class 3, 8 in Class 4, and 4 in class 5.
We decided to rearrange some posts within the organisation, and asked Professor Suraiya’s son Raden to be the new Chair of the organisation, as Rezia Salam was happy to step down, and he had offered his office staff to help with any work they could do on behalf of the school. They asked me to be on the Board as a consultant advisor. Md Hamid will continue to be Executive Secretary, with the support of Mrs Rezia Salam.
Their annual accounts are as follows:
Thankyou so much for your continued support of Nijera Shikhi in Bangladesh. The families of the children who are befitting from your financial contributions are so very grateful that the school keeps open for the education of their children.
Taking advantage of a long weekend in India in March, where I am currently usually working ( for the Hindu festival of Holi), I decided to take a visit to Dhaka to visit the NS school, and to encourage them in their work, in March this year. It was good to be able to see the work they are still doing, and to be able to give you an update. I am actually in the UK for a short break (till June 8th) so I finally have found the time to write to you.
On the Saturday evening, I celebrated the breaking of the fast with Raden Siddiqui and his family, at his sisters house, where she looks after their mother Professor Suraiya Siddiqui who was the guiding light of Nijera Shikhi but now is suffering with severe dementia, and is unable to lead the organisation. On the Sunday morning, 16th March 2025, Mrs Rezia Salam, the Chair, had called a Board Meeting, at the Institute of Graphics, Sat Masjid Road, where the current director of Nijera Shikhi, Md Abdul Hamid had attended in the past and still had connections. There was an excellent turnout of 8 people, all interested and committed to the work of Nijera Shikhi, and we heard the reports of the John P Hastings School and went through the business of the last few years activity of Nijera Shikhi. At present there are 57 students in total, in 5 classes – 20 in the primary class, 15 in Class 2, 10 in class 3, 8 in Class 4, and 4 in class 5.
We decided to rearrange some posts within the organisation, and asked Professor Suraiya’s son Raden to be the new Chair of the organisation, as Rezia Salam was happy to step down, and he had offered his office staff to help with any work they could do on behalf of the school. They asked me to be on the Board as a consultant advisor. Md Hamid will continue to be Executive Secretary, with the support of Mrs Rezia Salam.
Their annual accounts are as follows:
Then we went to the school in Adabar Bazar for a visit, where we were eagerly awaited by the children. We spoke to them for some time, distributed some sweets, and then sat and discussed how impossibly hot it was in the rented premises, with inadequate fans. We decided to buy another fan and an extractor fan to have a throughput of air ( these were fitted on April 14th 2025) . In addition, the teachers said they really needed an increase in salary, so we agreed this as well, as they seem to work very hard with so many children in difficult circumstances, In addition we gave them a 2000 BDT donation for Eid which was upcoming. We discussed looking for different premises where the temperature would be more helpful to learning, Raden said his office staff could look for a new place in the same area, though it may be difficult, as space is at a premium in this area of Dhaka. It was a very busy area, with many businesses running along the main narrow street.
Raden is a busy person, running 4 businesses in Dhaka, including selling carbon offsetting stoves, and his work involves a lot of international travel which leaves him little time for offering to Nijera Shikhi. However, we hope that he will be able to contribute his skills and ideas to developing plans for Nijera Shikhi in the very near future. I will continue to encourage and motivate them from afar! I attach some photos to give you an insight into the school.
Yours with grateful thanks for all your continued support, including Russ for maintaining the accounts and obtaining gift aid in the UK, and the Friends of Nijera Shikhi in the UK team who meet regularly to support the work in Bangladesh.
Karen
Raden is a busy person, running 4 businesses in Dhaka, including selling carbon offsetting stoves, and his work involves a lot of international travel which leaves him little time for offering to Nijera Shikhi. However, we hope that he will be able to contribute his skills and ideas to developing plans for Nijera Shikhi in the very near future. I will continue to encourage and motivate them from afar! I attach some photos to give you an insight into the school.
Yours with grateful thanks for all your continued support, including Russ for maintaining the accounts and obtaining gift aid in the UK, and the Friends of Nijera Shikhi in the UK team who meet regularly to support the work in Bangladesh.
Karen
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