Our Club has initiated a joint international Water and Sanitation project together with the Rotary Club of Uttara, Bangladesh.  During a visit to the country, Club President Mahbub Ahmad and Club Foundation Chair Bina Ahmad were guests of President Wasiuddin Al-Mashud of the Rotary Club of Uttara in the suburbs of the capital Dhaka.  Following the meeting, the two Club Presidents discussed the various projects undertaken by their respective Clubs. Yonkers-East Yonkers President Mahbub Ahmad agreed to join in 3 of the projects and donated $880 towards these projects. The Water and Sanitation project of the RC Uttara was impressive and would benefit many people.  Under this project, 15 sanitary toilets for women and girls will be constructed at a remote village in Hobiganj, in north-east Bangladesh, under the supervision of the RC Uttara.  The President's donation will cover the construction of 10 of these toilets.  The RC Uttara will finance the remaining units, which will be constructed during the current Rotary year.
 
Sanitation remains a sensitive issue in many developing countries, especially in rural areas, where many young girls are forced to drop out of school due to the lack of proper toilet facilities in the schools or the villages.  For only about $50, a proper sanitary toilet can be constructed and made available to local residents, particularly the girls and women who could go out only under cover of darkness to answer calls of nature, and that too in unsecured, open areas.
 
The RC Uttara provides permanent support to an elementary school for under-privileged children.  A contribution was made to provide enhanced snacks for the prize-distribution ceremony of the school.  The third contribution was towards the medical treatment of a long-time Rotarian who is to be sent abroad for cancer treatment.