BIES Vows to Build Prosperous Bengali Community
Bengali Information and Employment Services (BIES) vowed to fight unemployment and build a dignified and enriched Bengali community in Ontario at its 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM) and award giving ceremony to its volunteers. The program was held at Accesspoint on Danforth in Toronto on Saturday, April 27, 2013.
The AGM was chaired by its President M. Imam Uddin and facilitated by young Member Barshan Quadry. Among others, the meeting was attended by the Beaches and East York MPP Michael Prue, President of Bangladesh Centre and Community Services-Hasina Quader, Ex- President of Dhaka University Forum- Abdul Halim Mia, Eminent Freedom Fighter and writer- Zahirul Islam, BIES’s General Secretary- Golam Mostafa, Treasurer- Dilruba Khanam. The volunteers of BIES were also awarded in the meeting in recognition of their outstanding activities.
A power point presentation on its activities, financial reports and future plan were also presented in the meeting. Apart from the president, General Secretary and Treasurer, the newly elected executive members are: IT Specialist Sadi Khan, Social Worker Ishmat Ara Mostafa, Mostafa Kamal and Nasar Ahmed. All of the new members promised to build a prosperous and united Bengali community in Ontario.
Having appreciated the different activities of BIES, Michael Prue said in his speech that Bangladeshi immigrants are highly educated, efficient and experienced. They have been settling here by facing a lot challenges, he added. Local MPP again applauded the research works of BIES in the meeting. By mentioning the world’s situation of recession, he said that we are committed to build a developed province of Ontario in comparison with other provinces by facing the challenges ahead where Bengali community has a great role to play. He welcomed the volunteers of BIES and advised them that these experiences would help them get employment in the future.
In her speech, Hasina Quader, President of BCCS, emphasized on the need for working in united ways among our community based organizations including BIES. Other speakers addressed in the meeting mentioned their stories of struggling and challenges in settling in Canada. They also said that the main barriers in the ways of settlement in Canada are getting right information and advice in the right time. So, the initiatives, BIES has undertaken so far, are really praise-worthy. It is mention here that BIES started its journey last year in Toronto based on the slogan ‘Sharing Information, Improving Lives’.