Welcome to Symbiosis Newsletter No. 3 for 2009.

School Kids

As we come to the end of the year, a weary Executive Officer of Symbiosis International (Morris Lee) was heard to say; “It has been a demanding and yet rewarding year. The next one also promises to be equally challenging”.
There is a real sense that Symbiosis is moving to a new level of operation in terms of the depth and the scope of its outreach to the poor and marginalized people in Bangladesh.
The landscape of Symbiosis in Bangladesh has been dominated to some extent this year by the beginning of construction of the New Training Centre in Mymensingh. This has been helped enormously by the efforts of Kevin and Valma Voigt. Kevin has been very impressed by the knowledge and skills of local workmen, but he has also been able to make suggestions that have resulted in improvements in construction methods.

Welcome to Symbiosis Newsletter No. 3 for 2008

As the world slides deeper into financial recession, Christmas preparations and celebrations begin to distract most Australians. Bangladesh cools down as winter approaches but hots up as the National Elections draw closer.

In October, the Country Director, his wife, and two staff members from Symbiosis Bangladesh visited Australia for meetings with donors and supporters. For the first time, Western Australia was included in their itinerary, in recognition of the wonderful support that has grown in the West in recent years. Many of you were able to meet them and were interested in and impressed with theirs tories. They also spoke at the Symbiosis International (SI) AGM, where Dr Coral Johnson and Mr Roger White were elected as new directors of SI.

Steve and Jeanette Noolan are into the last month of their stay in Bangladesh and have been ableto build successfully on the work of Nick and Nina Sampson. Steve has continued to develop the computer networks and the efficiency of our computing systems in Symbiosis as well as delivering computer training. Jeanette has also developed new initiatives in the area of English competency with the Symbiosis staff as well as English training.

2009 Newsletter No.1 - March

With 2009 rushing on like the mighty Jamuna River, it’s high time for a catch up about all things Symbiosis and Bangladesh. Looking back on the last few months, there has been a mixture of good and not-so-good things happening:

The Bangladesh national election in December was carried out in a peaceful and orderly manner, delivering an overwhelming victory to Sheik Hasina and the Awami League.
The recent mutiny by members of the Bangladesh Rifles involving the deaths of dozens of officers has seen Bangladesh hit the international news. Although inexcusable, the mutiny reflects the desperate situation in which many find themselves in these increasingly difficult times.
Successful visits were carried out by a large number of teams and individuals during the last few months. These visits help increase first-hand understanding about the vital work of Symbiosis.
Like most organisations relying on external donors, Symbiosis Bangladesh is facing significant reductions to its project budgets in the coming financial year. This will result in staff being laid off and a reduction in the scale of the organisations work amongst the poor and marginalised.