Volunteers Association for Bangladesh
The Volunteers Association for Bangladesh (VAB, pronounced VaaB – meaning “idea” or “feeling” in Bengali) aims at empowering poor children of rural Bangladesh to have a brighter future. VAB helps them gain quality high school education and vocational skills training.
Since its establishment in 1998, VAB has helped more than 300,000 young men and women and their families in rural areas of Bangladesh. VAB’s mission is now moving forward with greater strength and higher hopes.
Latest Developments
VAB lost a “Friend, Philosopher and Guide”
Dr. Sufian Khondker, who helped the establishment and initial growth of VAB, passes away in New York
He was a great leader and a good person, a devoted community activist.
Dr. Sufian A. Khondker is no longer with us. He passed away on March 3, 2024, in New York. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un … May his departed soul rest in peace in Jannatul Ferdous. Ameen.
Dr. Sufian Khondker, PhD, was a world-renowned engineer with over 50 years of experience in Hydraulics, River Engineering, Geotechnical and Civil Engineering aspects of complex Power, Water Resources, and Infrastructure projects. Dr. Khondker was a Senior Vice President and National Technology Director of ARCADIS, one of the largest Design & Consultancy Firms in the world. Dr. Khondker was also associated with many National and International Professional Societies and Organizations.
Dr. Khondker received numerous awards, the most prestigious ones include US Congressional Recognition for outstanding achievements in Engineering and Science, and Certificate of Merit from New York State Assembly for outstanding Community Service. His biography was published by Marquis Who’s Who in the World and recently he was awarded the most prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. He was serving, before his death, as an Advisor to the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) for review and design of the first Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh.
VAB Introduces e-Learning in Rural High Schools
A “first” for Bangladesh in the use of a screening app in tablets for students
Online education has been gaining grounds all around the world, essentially because of convenience and cost-effectiveness. The pandemic, imposing its ravages on on-site in-person schooling, generated a boost for online education. However, online education is dependent on the availability of ICT infrastructure, hardware and software, which are expensive and thus, invariably place developing countries among the community of nations, and resource-poor segments of population within each country in a highly disadvantaged position. The impact of the pandemic on education in Bangladesh has been an alarming “education deficit”, and in the underprivileged rural sector, a deficit of a disastrous proportion.
Lifetime Achievement Award
VAB’s Founder and President Dr. A T Rafiqur Rahman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
It is with great honor and pride that we announce that Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, has just presented A T Rafiqur Rahman, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, for his “achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field”.
An expert in public administration and development, Dr. Rahman retired in 1996 after more than 15 years with the United Nations (UN). Dr. Rahman also held high positions with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Canada. Apart from his commitments in the field, Dr. Rahman taught at several institutions, including Dhaka University in Bangladesh, Rhodes College in Tennessee, USA, and Baruch College, City University of New York.
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Quality education for the underprivileged in rural Bangladesh.
CONNECT
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QUICK LINKS
CONTACT US
USA: 122 Taxter Road
Irvington, New York 10533
Phone: (914) 231-7972
Email: mati_pal@yahoo.com
Email: mati_pal@vabonline.org
BANGLADESH: House 806, Road 3, Baitul Aman Housing Society, Adabor, Dhaka – 1207, Bangladesh
Phone: 910-4558
Email: vab.bgd@gmail.com
VAB ICT Division