My dream reaches me to my destination

My name is Md. Hazrat Ali. My father and mother, Bashir Uddin and Martuza Khatun, both died during my childhood. My elder brother and sister took care of me following their deaths. We are from Thakurgaon district. I moved from Thakurgaon to Cox’s Bazar in 2016 and was admitted to study at Cox’s Bazar Polytechnic College.

My college friend told me about the YES Center at Ramu Upazilla in Cox’s Bazar and the variety of free training courses that they offer. I had heard that those trainings were very helpful as many youth from my area have already gotten a job following their participation in the program. Because of the successes that I had seen amongst the youth in my community, I was encouragedto visit the YES center myself and found it to be a very nice place surrounded by natural views.

Employment of youth living in rural area? Now it’s not a barrier

Training makes a person skilled and inspired to move ahead. The YES Center Cox’s Bazar is one of the institutions, where many young people from Ramu in Cox’s Bazar received training for their future lives. Different courses of this Center help hundreds of young people to become self- reliant. The YES Center managed by YPSA provided a lot of opportunities to its students.

I am Hamid Hussein Azad. I live in Kala Khondoker Para village, which is located at South Mithacory in RamuUpazilla. The YES Center is a well-known place, located at Panerchora village, Mithathory union, RamuUpazilla in Cox’s Bazar district. I was also one of the students of this Center and I participated in three training, which were hotel management, life skills development and blog writing.

English Language Course in the YES Center : An opportunity for youth in rural village

Sheikh Farid Uddin Fahad

Hello, my name is Sheikh Farid Uddin Fahad! I live in Paner Chara village. The YES Center is located nearby. I am completing an English Language Course in the YES Center.

I know that this course is very effective and important, because English is an international language. Therefore, it is of special demand all over the world.

We know, that English is the main language to communicate with international communities.Actually, at present most of the companies in Bangladesh are looking for employees, that are proficient in English language. This criteria is reflected in the posted job vacancies. It is also true, that most of the books in higher education are published in English.

Hello! I am from Bangladesh

Jasim Uddin 

Hello! I am Jasim Uddin. My village is Kathalia , which is located to the East side of Moricha Bazar in Ukhia Thana in Cox’s Bazar district.

We are Bangladeshi. Around half of the population of our country is young. As Bangladesh is a developing country, we are facing various limitations. That’s why many people of our country do not want to involve themselves with self-employment. But from the beginning of my student’s life, I had a dream to establish an organization with young people, which will contribute for creating self employment.

At first I initiated and started to organize youth from my own community from the year 2014. Onwards two of my friends extended their hands to me. We named the organization JSR (Justice Solidarity Reunity) -student group. After a while we realized that for strengthening our initiatives we needed some capacity.

Importance of English language course in Cox’s Bazar

Ayesha Akter

I am Ayesha Akter. I am 19 years old. At present, I am a student of honors first year in Cox’s Bazar city college. Cox’s Bazar is my birthplace.

I am living in Cox’s Bazar from my childhood. For this reason, I love this district a lot. The longest sea beach in the world is located in this district. For this reason, it is a famous tourist spots in the whole world. This district is also famous for it’s other attractive tourist spots. Cox’s Bazar is one of the most vulnerable district for various types of natural and manmade disasters. Now millions of Rohingya refugees are staying in this host district.

Every year millions of tourists visit our country. Especially they come here to enjoy the natural beauty of Cox’s Bazar. Among those visitors, there are also women visitors. Female visitors prefer female tourist guides for ensuring their smooth visit.

Hotel management course helps me to build my career in the hospitality sector

Mobinul Hoque

My name is Mobinul Hoque, I am a student of 8th semester in Polytechnic Institution in Cox’s Bazar. Student life is the initial stage of our life. It is also a foundation stage and an important period for building a better future. A student can gather vast practical knowledge from his surrounding environments. Student life is the period for taking proper preparation for our practical life and skills driven education is very crucial for students in enhancing practical knowledge in this globalization.

I am also trying to enhance my practical knowledge for my job in future. And I prefer a job in the hospitality sector. Because the hotel sector is a vibrant sector and it is globally a very popular sector. One can know the diversity of real life from this sector. In the hotel sector we have a vast opportunity to build our career based in Cox’s Bazar and across our country.

Our commitment to build a Tobacco free Cox’s Bazar

Blogger Sumi Akhter

Sumi Akhter: We all know that tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of death and it is the only legally available consumer product, that kills people. Tobacco causes cancers of the lung, larynx, kidney, bladder, stomach, colon, oral cavity and esophagus as well as leukemia, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, miscarriage and premature birth, birth defects and infertility, since tobacco contains 7000 chemicals, which are very harmful for health. Bangladesh is one of the countries, where both production and consumption of tobacco use is high. A study of WHO shows that 100,000 people die yearly and 382,000 people become disabled due to illness caused by tobacco related diseases in Bangladesh. Tobacco is not only harmful to health, but also to the economy, the environment, nutrition, poverty, women, children, adolescents and overall human rights.

Our Duties towards Young Women Development

Shahin Aktar

Shahin Aktar: Wealth is created, where it rains. Rain is sign of love and affection. The same feeling belongs to a woman. They are the soul and strength of a country.

Bangladesh is a middle-income country. One half of the population of Bangladesh are women. Hoever, most of the women are not empowered. The main causes behind it, is that women are facing lots of obstruction from their family and society and they also don’t get enough opportunities to be empowered. However, it is possible to strengthen the situation of women through resolving all obstacles and problems in their way… like Begum Rokeya Sakhawat did.

Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) is widely acknowledged and accepted as a female iconic figure in Bangladesh, who undertook serious efforts to improve and strengthen the situation of women in society. She understood the causes of the despicable situation of women and “prescribed” women education as a remedy. Rokeya emphasized women education to emancipate them so that they could be free as humans. Rokeya played an important role in spreading women’s education and their empowerment. She tried to rectify unnatural practices of seclusion and men’s negative perception of education for women. Finally, Rokeya urged all women to undertake every effort to move forward and to foster their intellect via education.

First experience as tourist guide

Jannatul Hafsa

Jannatul Hafsa: Every person has his or her own dream and I had a dream to do something of my own choice beside my studies. But I could not get an opportunity to fulfill my dream. One day when I was discussing with my college friends and other students in front of our Principal’s room, we met with a person who told and invited us to join with tourist guide training at YES CENTER COX’S BAZAR. When he asked me I certainly agreed and expressed my interest to join in the training. And successfully I did a 3 months course at the YES CENTER COX’S BAZAR with great pleasure.

After completing my training, one day the manager of the YES CENTER introduced all the participants of  the course “tourist guide” to our department head and other teachers of our college at our Principal’s room and they wanted to know more about our training. On 5th October 2017 at 9.30 am, Mr. S. M. Aktar Chowdhury, head of our department called me over phone and asked me to work as a tourist guide and told me to meet the Principal. When I finally met our Principal, Mr. Kathying Aung, I found that tourists were already waiting for me in his office. They were a group of journalists from the private TV channel “Dipto”, who will work on the Rohingya issue. My responsibilities were to guide them in the Rohingya camp at Ukhia & Taknaf and to translate the Rohingya language into Bangla in front of the camera. I worked for 6 days with the team from 5th to 10th of October 2017.

Awareness on technical education among the young people in Bangladesh

Blogger: Sumi Akter

Sumi Akter: The education that increases the practical and technical knowledge and skills for a specific occupation is called vocational education. The vocational education prepares a person to work in agriculture, trade, a craft, or industry as a technical or in professional vocations through a combination of theoretical teaching and practical experience. It helps people to increase their capacity, better performance in their jobs and involve them with creative and productive activities. Once upon a time we had endless natural resources and people lived happily  their life. But now the population has increased tremendously and this population growth creates pressure on our remaining natural resources. So it is very important to develop a person as a human resource.  One of the objectives of vocational training is to promote a balancing of supply and demand for skilled labor in both wage employment and for skills needed for self-employment in rural and urban areas. Vocational education has been given the role of transforming of our country’s economy and to meet the demands of the labor market. It enriches a person for life and it provides the competences which are necessary in a democratic society. Societal and economic development depends on the strength of vocational education as it provides access to skills and entry routes into the labor market.

Procession of lost

Jannatul Hafsa

Jannatul Hafsa: Since August 25, 2017 when violence escalated in Myanmar's Rakhine State, more than 500,000 people including children and adults from the ethnic Rohingya minority of Myanmar crossed over to Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban district in Bangladesh fearing for their lives. Many of those crossing into Bangladesh arrive exhausted, sick and hungry after enduring days on the move. Among them many are pregnant and lactating women, and children under five. More than 70% of the refugees are without adequate shelter, food, sanitation facilities and half have no safe drinking water. This is a large scale and escalating humanitarian crisis. They are living in terrible conditions and need life-saving assistance now. According to UNHCR, they join the more than 400,000 others already living there in cramped makeshift camps since the early 1990s. Existing camps and the ones newly being set up are inadequate to deal with the massive influx, resulting in many seeking shelter under open skies, by the roadside and in forest & hill areas with little or no protection.

Job is not a “Golden Deer” for me if we get YES CENTER besides us

Blogger: Wasim Hasnat

Wasim Hasnat : Bangladesh is a low middle income country. Our country is expecting to become a middle income country by 2021. For the economic growth, youth can play an advanced role in reaching the aim of Bangladesh becoming a middle income country. The youth of the country have already proven, that they have the ability to become drivers for change and growth in the social and the economic fields. But youth unemployment is a major problem for Bangladesh over the past decades. When young workers are not able to connect to the labour market, it profoundly impacts their ability to participate fully in the economy and threatens their social and economic future. Sometimes many young people could not get a proper job and could not work as per their ability and qualifications and as a result they could not utilize their ability, which often drives them into frustration. So nowadays a proper job is considered a “Golden Deer” among the educated male and female youth.  Besides, when we apply for any job we risk of not getting it due to lack of experience and skills.

Youth empowerment is a prime need for the development of Bangladesh

Md. Abdullah Al Mamun

YES CENTER Blogger Group

Abdullah Al Mamun: Youth are the backbone of any country because the development of a country mostly depends on the integrated development of youth. Development in Bangladesh also depends on proper utilization of youth because they constitute about one-third of the total population. But the youth are suffering from various socio-economic problems, such as unemployment, underemployment, illiteracy, lack of technical education and training and the financial crisis for self-employment which causes mass poverty.

The progress of economic and social status depends on the active participation of an educated, trained and skilled youth force in the development process, but the youth do not get the opportunity to acquire such qualities. Consequently, they are not able to participate in the decision making process of development work as well as in their self-employment. Besides the technology-based education system, technology based institutions and vocational training are not developed adequately. So the youth do not have much opportunity to get technology-based professional education and training that can help them to get jobs, create self-employment, and develop their leadership qualities as well.

YES Youth blogger group celebrated International Youth Day’ 2017

Tree Plantation

Abdullah Al Mamun: On 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth held in Lisbon on 8-12 August 1998 that 12 August be declared International Youth Day. Since then different countries started to observe International Youth Day. The United Nations (UN) International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 each year to recognize efforts of the world’s youth in enhancing global society. It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities. In each year a specific theme is highlighted on the day. International Youth Day 2017 is dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace through focusing a theme on 'Youth Building Peace'.

ICT training and my feelings...

Author: Md. Moin Uddin, Trainee, YES Center

The youth are the great force for the progress of any country and society, but youth in our Bangladeshi society is far behind any development. Every young person has a dream to contribute to the development of the community, country and family after completing their study. But it is fact that the youth of the rural area are less privileged than the urban youth. The urban youth enjoy many opportunities like higher education institutions, skill development training, can use information technology and can connect with the information of the whole world. On the other hand, the youth of the rural area are facing many problems such as lack of employment opportunities, lack of training facilities, lack of economic activities etc. And if a  young person received any training he/she could not utilized the skills due to lack of employment opportunities here. In this circumstance, the YES Center Cox’s Bazar is contributing for creating opportunities for the rural youth to make them active citizens.

I belong to a poor family of Chaillatali village of South Mithachari Uion of Ramu Upazila of Cox's Bazar district. My family tried to give me the opportunity to have higher education, but my family could not pay for the necessary training for me.

Life Skills Training will be a means for youth development

Author: Sumi Akhter, YES YOUTH

Life skills are the skills that we need to deal effectively with the challenges in our everyday life, whether at school, at work or in our social and personal life. It was a big question for me what the importance of life skill training for young people would be. I hope, that you may have that same question like me. Young people, especially young women in Cox’s Bazar, are always busy with their household activities or education and to get married with an unknown person according to the choice of our parents or guardians and to pass the whole life with that person. 

We have no specific choice and we do not have a plan on what we want to do, how we can develop ourselves, in which direction we want to go. Girls are often considered to be a financial burden to their families. For those reasons girls and women face many obstacles regarding their development and they are suffering a lot. 

They are victims of violence, oppression and discrimination and as a result they fall behind in our society.

YES CENTER: A Guide for the Empowerment of Young Women

Shahin Akhter, Member of YES Youth Group

Cox’s Bazar is the world largest sea beach area and we are proud of it. But unfortunately, people of this prestigious region are living a neglected and dark life. In this situation, the YES CENTER COX’S BAZAR becomes the guide of young people of Cox’s Bazar. 

The center is implementing many development activities in this region and with the marginalized youth of Cox’s Bazar for changing their livelihood. The YES CENTER COX’S BAZAR is a real resource in this region. It is situated in Ramu Upazilla of Cox’s Bazar district which is the South-eastern part of Bangladesh. 

The CENTER provides us different training facilities, especially for young women. I live in Cox’s Bazar and when I heard about the YES CENTER I expressed my interest and I got admitted. I received Life Skill Education training at first and many students, young boys and girls like me gained knowledge on life related information which helped us to develop our social competency, social behavior and problem solving skills. This training also helped to recognize our own identity and build our self confidence.

YES CENTER COX’S BAZAR provides 6 types of management and skill development training for the youth of Ramu Upazila of Cox’s Bazar district. These training are: ICT (Computer) training, Hotel Management, Tourist guide, Basic Accountancy & Book keeping, Office management & secretariat and English Language courses. Besides, Life Skill Education and school based Disaster Risk Reduction training are also arranged in the YES CENTER. Students are getting these training free of cost and it ensures young women participation in all the training.

English literacy knowledge keeps you ahead of other youth…

YES Youth Group Member: Sayed Masud, Cox's Bazar

English and ICT Knowledge are basic requirements of personal carrier development. Learning English is important for career development of a youth. Apart from our mother tongue (Bengali) we need to have a common language which makes us able to communicate with other parts of the world. English is the common language which is known to most of the people in the world. 

It is very important to speak good English because an effective communication can reach people better. 

To realizing the situation I was admitted to the English language course of YES CENTER COX’S BAZAR. The length of this course was three months. Here I have learnt how to communicate in English for instance, in speaking and writing. 

At the beginning, I felt shy and unnatural. But after some time I got a growing expertise in communication in English. In that consequence, I got a chance to work at the Refugee Camp in Cox's Bazar under the World Food Program (WFP).

I am now working here as a field researcher. I believed this is only possible for having knowledge in English literacy. And I am thankful to the YES CENTER project for giving me this opportunity. I am also requesting other young people of Cox's Bazar for taking the training in English language course.