Looking Forward, Remembering Our Past

Category: Education

Online Lecture 31st May 2023 – The Armenian Community + History in Dhaka and Sir Catchick Paul Chater

Online Lecture 31 May 2023

Online Lecture 31 May 2023

On Wednesday 31st May 2023 an online lecture was hosted by the Armenian Diocese of Australia. The topics were ‘The Armenian and History of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection in Dhaka’ AND ‘Sir Catchick Paul Chater, The Greatest Armenian Hong Kong Has Ever Seen.’

The speakers were Julieta Arslanian, Board Member of the Armenian Apostolic Church Dhaka and Liz Chater, Heritage Co-Ordinator for the Armenian Church Dhaka and Armenian Family History Researcher.

A short history of the Armenian community in Bangladesh was given. Reference was made to some of the early leading Armenians in Dhaka. There was also mention of Armenians who lived in the city as early as 1714. We also covered the opening of the Pogose School in Dhaka, the founder’s family connection to the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy in Calcutta. There’s an update on our future plans for the Armenian Church in Dhaka and how we are implementing a number of ideas to secure a strong permanent place for the church in Bangladesh. Our food program strategy, along with our education plans to work with NGOs to help the underprivileged children in Dhaka was covered.

And as if there wasn’t interesting enough there was a fascinating presentation on Sir Catchick Paul Chater covering his early years in Kolkata and Hong Kong, his plans to develop Hong Kong into a leading commercial port in Asia, to his pastimes and passions and his lasting legacies that many benefit from today.

Use this link to listen to the whole online presentation or use our LinkTree page in our Instagram bio and pick it up from there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe6-VpatRlk

Bangladesh in Armenia

Zarrin, Ayman, and Shahib

Zarrin, Ayman, and Shahib

We often highlight the Armenian presence in Bangladesh via the history of our church in Dhaka and the past community, but recently we learned of three Bangladeshi students studying in Armenia, and we were keen to know more about them. We were delighted to speak via Zoom with Zarrin Mahdiyat Ali recently about her time in Armenia.  Zarrin, and two other students, Ayman Asif and Shahib Uddin Prokhor, are all from Dhaka.

Dilijan is a long way from home, but it is at the United World College (UWC) at Dilijan, where, after two years studying,  they have all recently graduated. We wanted to know a little about their time in Armenia and Zarrin kindly shared some of her thoughts and observations with us.

UWC have schools in 18 countries around the world, and the one in Dilijan was opened in 2014. “UWC Dilijan is a story of developing international education in Armenia. Its location in Armenia, a country that is reimagining itself in the post-Soviet period, made the school a perfect social venture that could grow and gain strength together with the new Armenia”. 

 The students apply to this program and are unsure where exactly they’ll get placed. Zarrin chose Dilijan from a selection of Armenia, Thailand, and Hong Kong because she was gravitated towards the nature of Armenia, very different from Dhaka, where she grew up her whole life.

Zarrin, Ayman, and Shahib spent two years in Dilijan and graduated this month.

Their curriculum consisted of 6 core subjects:

    • Native Language
    • Foreign Language
    • Humanities (Econ, politics, geography, history, philosophy, etc)
    • Sciences – physics, chemistry, biology
    • Mathematics
    • Arts (theatre, music, etc)

The school in Dilijan is for grade 11 and 12. It has about 100 students who are from over 80-90 nationalities.

The Artsakh war broke out two months after Zarrin arrived in Armenia, and with Covid still being an issue, her experience was quite unique. She got to live through the hardships of Armenia as a nation, and the interpersonal impact from her peers and mentors who were directly affected by the war with having a loved one on the front line, or them personally.

Nonetheless, Dilijan felt like home. Zarrin said: “The nature is beautiful, the monasteries, surrounding cities. Gyumri was a personal favorite of mine”.

Although Zarrin and the other students knew of the Armenian Church, Dhaka, none had visited.  We have, of course, extended an invitation to come and see us when they are back in Bangladesh and we’ll make sure our Warden, Armen Arslanian and his daughter Julie are there too.  Zarrin would absolutely love to visit Armenia again, she considers it now a part of her, and her journey of growth.

She knows of four Bangladeshi students that have studied in Dilijan before. She’s one of three that graduated this year. Four will graduate next year.

Zarrin will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall, and we wish her and all the other Bangladeshi students much success in the next stage of their further education.

We are thrilled to see young, vibrant, talented Bangladeshi students embracing Armenia and everything it has to offer and choosing Dilijan, not only for their educational needs but for unique life experiences that will live with them forever.  We look forward to seeing more students from Bangladesh taking advantage of Armenia’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, for we are, most definitely, the land of endless possibilities and opportunities.

Armenian Church Bangladesh: Michael Martin Scholarship Success in Armenia

The memory of Mr. Michael Martin, the late caretaker of the Armenian Church, Dhaka now stretches further than ever before.

 

Today we are featuring the applicants who received the Mr. Michael Martin Scholarship to matriculate at the Artsakh State University under the Yunus Social Business Centre.

Participants who applied for the scholarship had to present a business proposal and these eight candidates now have access to an education and the resources needed to be able to pursue their small business plans and help drive the economic and social future of Artsakh.

 

The Armenian Bangladesh Church strives to not only give back to the community in Bangladesh, but in Artsakh and Armenia as well.

 

Our warmest congratulations are extended to these best winning business ideas:

Narine Krikoryan – Grigoryan’s Natural Cosmetics
Artsakh Abrahamyan – Haka Group
Samuel Kirkoryan – ARTsakh’s GReeN Garden
Hasmik Ardzanyan – Sand Planet Learning Center
Milena Ohanyan – Ohanyan Dairy Factory LLC
Lusine Vanyan – Languages Learning Platform
Margarita Afanasyan – DedoBabo
Nanar Aleksanyan – Fun Way Training + Development Center

The same scholarship opportunities were provided to a group of students at Gavar State University in Armenia earlier this year.

 

The Board of the Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection, Dhaka, will continued to extend assistance through the respective Mr Michael Martin Programs both here in Bangladesh and Armenia, and we are very much looking forward to new ways and opportunities of helping each community.

 

 

 

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