On the 38th anniversary of its Foundation Day, BRAC announced the release of its strengthened mission, vision and values in re-affirmation of its commitment to fighting poverty in Bangladesh and globally.
Our vision is “A world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential.”
Our mission is “To empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. Our interventions aim to achieve large scale, positive changes through economic and social programs that enable men and women to realize their potential.”
Our values - Innovation, Integrity, Inclusiveness and Effectiveness - are core to our organization and we will be guided by them in our everyday work.
BRAC is now a global and well known development organization that achieves large scale, rapid change by working with individuals, families, communities and institutions to overcome poverty. Our approach is comprehensive – with financial services, capacity building, and livelihood development as well as health, education and social justice – enabling people to realize their potential.
To portray a consistent image of BRAC and its multidimensional work, we have evolved our logo to reflect our vision and our unique approach. The logo and its color also represent our southern roots and our focus on women.
Henceforth, our new logo will be used in all communication materials, signs and other internal and external media.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Learning ABCs in the North West Frontier Province, Pakistan
“A B C D E F G…” From a cold, open-air classroom where temperatures are below 40oF (4oC), passersby’s can hear enthusiastic pre-primary schoolchildren practicing the English alphabet. These are sounds from one of BRAC’s pre-primary schools in the town of Haripur in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The children are both ethnic Pathan and Hazara groups, the predominant ethnicities of the province.
When starting out one year ago, BRAC conducted door-to-door field surveys and held a number of town hall meetings with communities to understand their needs. “No one did community meetings like this. Not even the government. Only BRAC did”, says Shahzia Younis, one of the program officers. This was a confidence building exercise – BRAC heard from the parents first-hand of how lacking schools were in their locality, and they learned about the successes of BRAC schools in neighboring Afghanistan. This paved the way for BRAC to find spaces to rent for schools, recruit and train local staff (all of whom are women), and persuade parents from marginalized families to send their children to school.
“Why are you taking inn so many girls?” Mr. Gaffar, the BRAC area manager, recalls being asked this question by someone in the community. His reply was simple: “Islam teaches girls to be better Muslims via education. But schools are not accessible to girls. Girls live too far away from schools.”
Iqra is one of the girls who attends a BRAC school. Her parents pleaded with Mr. Gaffar to take her in. “Iqra suffered from a debilitating fear of speaking to anyone, including her own family. This fear was brought on by her learning disability, and resulted in her being expelled from other schools. Her parents asked me if BRAC could work with her, so we took her in. Now Iqra is a motivated student. Every BRAC pre-primary school in Haripur has at least one child with a learning disability.” When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, Iqra says “Doctor”, in no uncertain terms.
Government officials are surprised at successful cases like Iqra’s. “What kind of magic did you cast on these children?” a visiting local official asked one of the BRAC teachers. The trick is to “Treat kids well, make learning fun, and keep kids busy with the curriculum and extra-curricular activities”, says Mr. Gaffar. This is the formula taken from BRAC Bangladesh’s education programs.
Sumbal, one of the program officers in Haripur says: “Because of the kids who attend BRAC pre-primary schools, their mothers have become more disciplined. Before, students could not get to school on time in the morning. Now, parents send the kids to school on time, maintain regular bath and sleep schedules, and ensure that children ‘salaam’ and greet people properly. Every child’s family has learned the importance of a regularized routine.”
“By 9 o’clock we are in the field, visiting the schools” explains Shahzia. “We make sure that all the schools are on track with their lesson plans, and we take note of which kids are absent. In the afternoons, we visit the homes of absent children, and speak to the mothers to understand why their children did not attend school. If a child misses school because of sickness, we tell the mothers to take special care or call a doctor to ensure the child is better and can resume school soon.
“Often, mothers discourage children from attending school because they fear that English is too difficult a subject to learn. We as program officers convince mothers to allow their children to return to school. We tell them not to interrupt their child’s education, and that BRAC teaches kids of all learning levels. We also stress these values when we hold special monthly meetings with children’s mothers (and fathers, if available).” Such close engagement by the staff ensures the retention of children in schools and minimizes drop-out cases.
Speaking to the children allows one to see their motivation and enthusiasm for coming to school daily. Sofia, one of the girls in the pre-primary program, says “Today my mother is sick. She told me to skip school and stay home to watch my little brother. But I didn’t want to miss school. So I brought my little brother to school so I can study and watch him at the same time.”
In NWFP, one of the riskiest places for NGOs to operate in Pakistan, and even in the middle of winter as cold winds blow in to the classrooms, learning is alive and well at the BRAC pre-primary schools. When the program first started, many children could not do art work beyond drawing straight lines on paper. Now they draw flowers, write ABCs, and make miniature ‘Tandoori’ ovens with clay. They even make their own pencil holders from used plastic beverage containers.
On his way home, Ahsad Naz sings in English, “Apple, Apple, Red Apple. Apple, Apple, Eat Apple. Ball, Ball, Big Ball, Ball Ball, Play Ball….” That day his mother probably needed a helping hand in caring for Ahsad’s ailing father, but she sent him to school anyway because he does not want to miss a single day. .
“Mothers say they want schools for their kids near their homes, especially for daughters. The short distance is important so the girls can walk to school easily. Schools are too far away, too few, and private schools are too expensive.” – Gaffar, BRAC Manager, Education, in Haripur, North West Frontier Province.
When starting out one year ago, BRAC conducted door-to-door field surveys and held a number of town hall meetings with communities to understand their needs. “No one did community meetings like this. Not even the government. Only BRAC did”, says Shahzia Younis, one of the program officers. This was a confidence building exercise – BRAC heard from the parents first-hand of how lacking schools were in their locality, and they learned about the successes of BRAC schools in neighboring Afghanistan. This paved the way for BRAC to find spaces to rent for schools, recruit and train local staff (all of whom are women), and persuade parents from marginalized families to send their children to school.
“Why are you taking inn so many girls?” Mr. Gaffar, the BRAC area manager, recalls being asked this question by someone in the community. His reply was simple: “Islam teaches girls to be better Muslims via education. But schools are not accessible to girls. Girls live too far away from schools.”
Iqra is one of the girls who attends a BRAC school. Her parents pleaded with Mr. Gaffar to take her in. “Iqra suffered from a debilitating fear of speaking to anyone, including her own family. This fear was brought on by her learning disability, and resulted in her being expelled from other schools. Her parents asked me if BRAC could work with her, so we took her in. Now Iqra is a motivated student. Every BRAC pre-primary school in Haripur has at least one child with a learning disability.” When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, Iqra says “Doctor”, in no uncertain terms.
Government officials are surprised at successful cases like Iqra’s. “What kind of magic did you cast on these children?” a visiting local official asked one of the BRAC teachers. The trick is to “Treat kids well, make learning fun, and keep kids busy with the curriculum and extra-curricular activities”, says Mr. Gaffar. This is the formula taken from BRAC Bangladesh’s education programs.
Sumbal, one of the program officers in Haripur says: “Because of the kids who attend BRAC pre-primary schools, their mothers have become more disciplined. Before, students could not get to school on time in the morning. Now, parents send the kids to school on time, maintain regular bath and sleep schedules, and ensure that children ‘salaam’ and greet people properly. Every child’s family has learned the importance of a regularized routine.”
“By 9 o’clock we are in the field, visiting the schools” explains Shahzia. “We make sure that all the schools are on track with their lesson plans, and we take note of which kids are absent. In the afternoons, we visit the homes of absent children, and speak to the mothers to understand why their children did not attend school. If a child misses school because of sickness, we tell the mothers to take special care or call a doctor to ensure the child is better and can resume school soon.
“Often, mothers discourage children from attending school because they fear that English is too difficult a subject to learn. We as program officers convince mothers to allow their children to return to school. We tell them not to interrupt their child’s education, and that BRAC teaches kids of all learning levels. We also stress these values when we hold special monthly meetings with children’s mothers (and fathers, if available).” Such close engagement by the staff ensures the retention of children in schools and minimizes drop-out cases.
Speaking to the children allows one to see their motivation and enthusiasm for coming to school daily. Sofia, one of the girls in the pre-primary program, says “Today my mother is sick. She told me to skip school and stay home to watch my little brother. But I didn’t want to miss school. So I brought my little brother to school so I can study and watch him at the same time.”
In NWFP, one of the riskiest places for NGOs to operate in Pakistan, and even in the middle of winter as cold winds blow in to the classrooms, learning is alive and well at the BRAC pre-primary schools. When the program first started, many children could not do art work beyond drawing straight lines on paper. Now they draw flowers, write ABCs, and make miniature ‘Tandoori’ ovens with clay. They even make their own pencil holders from used plastic beverage containers.
On his way home, Ahsad Naz sings in English, “Apple, Apple, Red Apple. Apple, Apple, Eat Apple. Ball, Ball, Big Ball, Ball Ball, Play Ball….” That day his mother probably needed a helping hand in caring for Ahsad’s ailing father, but she sent him to school anyway because he does not want to miss a single day. .
“Mothers say they want schools for their kids near their homes, especially for daughters. The short distance is important so the girls can walk to school easily. Schools are too far away, too few, and private schools are too expensive.” – Gaffar, BRAC Manager, Education, in Haripur, North West Frontier Province.
- Malik Rashid
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
US Government flies cash to Fonkoze
The below article is from America.gov.
by Katherine Lewis
The U.S. government has put cash in the hands of Fonkoze, the largest microfinance institution in Haiti, in a mission that required close cooperation of the U.S. military, the United Nations and multiple U.S. government agencies.
In the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, Fonkoze was the only bank able to stay open for customers making withdrawals and receiving money transfers. While goods were available for purchase in Port-au-Prince and other locations, many people had no money and commercial bank automatic teller machines were not functioning, according to news reports.
As Fonkoze grew short of cash, its chief executive, Anne Hastings, developed a plan to retrieve $2 million in its reserves from City National Bank of New Jersey (CNB) and distribute the cash to the 34 Fonkoze branches still operational in Haiti. The plan would require tight logistics and a military escort.
“We got an urgent request for help” on Friday morning [January 22], said Jennifer Harris, a member of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s policy planning staff. Fonkoze wanted to withdraw the cash that day, before the banking window closed at 5 p.m.
The mission was approved at 4:52 p.m. on Friday, with consent from officials from the U.S. military, the United Nations and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and with advice from the Federal Reserve, Harris said. By 5:17 p.m., funds had been transferred from CNB to JP Morgan Chase in Miami, divided into 34 packets of cash and placed in office supply boxes to camouflage the contents.
An armored truck took the boxes to Homestead Air Force Base in Miami, where a C-17 military aircraft picked them up and took them to Haiti overnight, for distribution by military helicopter on Saturday morning.
“We are indebted to many individuals and government agencies that helped make this happen,” Fonkoze President John Mercier said in a statement on the Fonkoze Web site. Mercier mentioned “unprecedented cooperation from civilian government, the military and civil society, including Fonkoze — toward the end of ensuring that rural Haitians have access to their own resources so they could begin the process of rebuilding their country.”
While $2 million may not seem like much, Fonkoze’s distribution network is unmatched in reaching into the population of Haiti, especially the poor and underserved, Harris said. Fonkoze serves more than 55,000 women borrowers, more than 175,000 savers and 1 million families who receive remittances from relatives and friends abroad.
“Fonkoze is essentially the way in which Haiti’s most vulnerable populations get cash,” Harris said. “They have a reach in that population that it would take years to recreate if they went under. As a priority of stabilizing the banking sector, Fonkoze matters as much, if not more than … the Citibanks and Sogebanks.”
Traditional commercial banks have begun to reopen in Port-au-Prince, and at least one was limiting withdrawals in order to have enough cash for the long lines of customers, according to news reports. The earthquake killed at least 111,400 people and displaced 1 million, according to a fact sheet from USAID, which has been distributing blankets, kitchen sets, water purification tablets, fuel and other relief supplies. Food prices outside Port-au-Prince have doubled.
Harris expressed gratitude for the efficient military response to Fonkoze’s request for help. “They jumped in, and it was amazing to see them turn this around on absolutely zero formal notice,” she said.
by Katherine Lewis
The U.S. government has put cash in the hands of Fonkoze, the largest microfinance institution in Haiti, in a mission that required close cooperation of the U.S. military, the United Nations and multiple U.S. government agencies.
In the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, Fonkoze was the only bank able to stay open for customers making withdrawals and receiving money transfers. While goods were available for purchase in Port-au-Prince and other locations, many people had no money and commercial bank automatic teller machines were not functioning, according to news reports.
As Fonkoze grew short of cash, its chief executive, Anne Hastings, developed a plan to retrieve $2 million in its reserves from City National Bank of New Jersey (CNB) and distribute the cash to the 34 Fonkoze branches still operational in Haiti. The plan would require tight logistics and a military escort.
“We got an urgent request for help” on Friday morning [January 22], said Jennifer Harris, a member of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s policy planning staff. Fonkoze wanted to withdraw the cash that day, before the banking window closed at 5 p.m.
The mission was approved at 4:52 p.m. on Friday, with consent from officials from the U.S. military, the United Nations and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and with advice from the Federal Reserve, Harris said. By 5:17 p.m., funds had been transferred from CNB to JP Morgan Chase in Miami, divided into 34 packets of cash and placed in office supply boxes to camouflage the contents.
An armored truck took the boxes to Homestead Air Force Base in Miami, where a C-17 military aircraft picked them up and took them to Haiti overnight, for distribution by military helicopter on Saturday morning.
“We are indebted to many individuals and government agencies that helped make this happen,” Fonkoze President John Mercier said in a statement on the Fonkoze Web site. Mercier mentioned “unprecedented cooperation from civilian government, the military and civil society, including Fonkoze — toward the end of ensuring that rural Haitians have access to their own resources so they could begin the process of rebuilding their country.”
While $2 million may not seem like much, Fonkoze’s distribution network is unmatched in reaching into the population of Haiti, especially the poor and underserved, Harris said. Fonkoze serves more than 55,000 women borrowers, more than 175,000 savers and 1 million families who receive remittances from relatives and friends abroad.
“Fonkoze is essentially the way in which Haiti’s most vulnerable populations get cash,” Harris said. “They have a reach in that population that it would take years to recreate if they went under. As a priority of stabilizing the banking sector, Fonkoze matters as much, if not more than … the Citibanks and Sogebanks.”
Traditional commercial banks have begun to reopen in Port-au-Prince, and at least one was limiting withdrawals in order to have enough cash for the long lines of customers, according to news reports. The earthquake killed at least 111,400 people and displaced 1 million, according to a fact sheet from USAID, which has been distributing blankets, kitchen sets, water purification tablets, fuel and other relief supplies. Food prices outside Port-au-Prince have doubled.
Harris expressed gratitude for the efficient military response to Fonkoze’s request for help. “They jumped in, and it was amazing to see them turn this around on absolutely zero formal notice,” she said.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
RESULTS brings US congressional staff to visit BRAC's programs in Bangladesh
Jen Maurer, Sr. Policy Associate for RESULTS, writes about the organization's recent trip to see BRAC's programs in Bangladesh with several US congressional staffers.
In January, RESULTS Educational Fund organized an educational trip to Bangladesh and India for congressional staffers who work on global health and foreign affairs. The purpose of these educational trips is to provide congressional staff with a firsthand experience of the progress and challenges faced by developing countries trying to addressing these issues, as well as the impact of U.S. government support for these programs.
...
We had the extreme fortune to visit with BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the world’s largest — and probably most impressive — NGO. It’s playing a critical role in reducing poverty in Bangladesh: its programs reach 110 million of the 150 million Bangladeshis. We spent a day with BRAC visiting a rural area outside of Dhaka to see their TB and microfinance programs, but first were lucky enough to meet with Mr. Fazle Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC and a truly inspiring man who is globally honored and recognized as a leader in fighting poverty). Mr. Abed and BRAC firmly believe that public health and social services should be provided by the government; as a result, BRAC’s goal is not to replace government services, but to support and expand services in partnership with the government. For example, BRAC is spearheading a successful and innovative national TB control effort in conjunction with the government. An interesting note: BRAC first started working on TB because it realized that the prime reason its microfinance clients were defaulting was due to TB illness in their family.
Mr. Abed told us that when they first wanted to expand TB services on a national scale, they requested funding from the World Bank, but were denied, with Bank staff explaining there just wasn’t money for TB. However, once the Global Fund was created, there was finally funding to support expansion of TB programs in Bangladesh. Thanks to the Global Fund and BRAC’s work with the government, Bangladesh has made great strides; for example, TB case detection rates have increased from 49 percent to 78 percent and from 46 percent to 73 percent in BRAC and government programs, respectively, between 2003 and 2009!
Never an NGO to rest on its laurels, BRAC continues to expand and improve its services in Bangladesh (its programs are too numerous to list here!) and now globally: started after the civil war with Pakistan ended in 1971, BRAC is taking its post-conflict development expertise to other countries in need, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, southern Sudan, and Liberia.
Read the full post on the RESULTS blog.
In January, RESULTS Educational Fund organized an educational trip to Bangladesh and India for congressional staffers who work on global health and foreign affairs. The purpose of these educational trips is to provide congressional staff with a firsthand experience of the progress and challenges faced by developing countries trying to addressing these issues, as well as the impact of U.S. government support for these programs.
...
We had the extreme fortune to visit with BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the world’s largest — and probably most impressive — NGO. It’s playing a critical role in reducing poverty in Bangladesh: its programs reach 110 million of the 150 million Bangladeshis. We spent a day with BRAC visiting a rural area outside of Dhaka to see their TB and microfinance programs, but first were lucky enough to meet with Mr. Fazle Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC and a truly inspiring man who is globally honored and recognized as a leader in fighting poverty). Mr. Abed and BRAC firmly believe that public health and social services should be provided by the government; as a result, BRAC’s goal is not to replace government services, but to support and expand services in partnership with the government. For example, BRAC is spearheading a successful and innovative national TB control effort in conjunction with the government. An interesting note: BRAC first started working on TB because it realized that the prime reason its microfinance clients were defaulting was due to TB illness in their family.
Mr. Abed told us that when they first wanted to expand TB services on a national scale, they requested funding from the World Bank, but were denied, with Bank staff explaining there just wasn’t money for TB. However, once the Global Fund was created, there was finally funding to support expansion of TB programs in Bangladesh. Thanks to the Global Fund and BRAC’s work with the government, Bangladesh has made great strides; for example, TB case detection rates have increased from 49 percent to 78 percent and from 46 percent to 73 percent in BRAC and government programs, respectively, between 2003 and 2009!
Never an NGO to rest on its laurels, BRAC continues to expand and improve its services in Bangladesh (its programs are too numerous to list here!) and now globally: started after the civil war with Pakistan ended in 1971, BRAC is taking its post-conflict development expertise to other countries in need, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, southern Sudan, and Liberia.
Read the full post on the RESULTS blog.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Mastercard Foundation CEO reports from BRAC Uganda
Mastercard Foundation CEO Reeta Roy is currently visiting BRAC's programs in Uganda. The Mastercard Foundation partnered with BRAC Uganda in 2008 to help us scale up our microfinance multiplied approach to poverty alleviation. Below is one of Reeta's posts from her visit. You can also follow her trip on Twitter.
Olive, the BRAC borrower and trained poultry vaccinator. She also grows mushrooms, which she proudly displays here. (Photo by Reeta Roy)
Lugazi, Mokono District
Jan 27, 2010
Today, we experienced how BRAC's “microfinance multiplied” model creates a succession of benefits in a community in the Mukono district. The heartbeat of the model is the microfinance group.
We met with one such group of dynamic women. Most of them were on their second or third loans, and growing their businesses. Nambi Aisha is a farmer, rears poultry and has also been trained by BRAC as a community health volunteer.
Nankabira Edith has a tailoring business. She used her second loan to buy a refrigerator so she could sell cold drinks. Meanwhile, Nanzera Edith was able to double the number of chickens she sells with her second loan.
The group chairman, Nankya Olive, cultivates mushrooms, sells snacks at schools and rears poultry. She was also trained as a poultry vaccinator. She proudly declared, "I vaccinate 4,000 chickens a month. People bring their chickens to me or I go to them. It's a good business."
I loved their bold spirit and confidence. And what do their husbands think? "They appreciate us!"
Olive, the BRAC borrower and trained poultry vaccinator. She also grows mushrooms, which she proudly displays here. (Photo by Reeta Roy)Lugazi, Mokono District
Jan 27, 2010
Today, we experienced how BRAC's “microfinance multiplied” model creates a succession of benefits in a community in the Mukono district. The heartbeat of the model is the microfinance group.
We met with one such group of dynamic women. Most of them were on their second or third loans, and growing their businesses. Nambi Aisha is a farmer, rears poultry and has also been trained by BRAC as a community health volunteer.
Nankabira Edith has a tailoring business. She used her second loan to buy a refrigerator so she could sell cold drinks. Meanwhile, Nanzera Edith was able to double the number of chickens she sells with her second loan.
The group chairman, Nankya Olive, cultivates mushrooms, sells snacks at schools and rears poultry. She was also trained as a poultry vaccinator. She proudly declared, "I vaccinate 4,000 chickens a month. People bring their chickens to me or I go to them. It's a good business."
I loved their bold spirit and confidence. And what do their husbands think? "They appreciate us!"
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fonkoze's Port-au-Prince branch starts operations after Earthquake despite damage
Updated
As you can see from the photos we just received, Fonkoze's branch office in Port-au-Prince sustained severe damage.
As you can see from the photos we just received, Fonkoze's branch office in Port-au-Prince sustained severe damage.
But that didn't them from resuming microfinance operations just 3 days after the earthquake, at a time when the Hatian people have an even greater need for access to funds.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
BRAC Staff from Around the World Offer Condolences
Yesterday, Haiti was hit by a 6.1 aftershock, which fortunately did not cause much additional damage to the country. Reports from Fonkoze, one of our partners in Haiti are hopeful as they start to rebuild and reach out to their clients.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, when we had trouble reaching our partners in Haiti and phone and internet lines were down, the Earth felt too big, the distances between each of us too gaping. Now, as communication resumes, as our partners report back and as emails of solidarity flood in from BRAC staff around the world, we are reminded of how connected we all are.
Last week, we sent out an email to BRAC colleagues and supporters calling for help in a Haiti Emergency Appeal. In return, we received messages of compassion and good wishes that BRAC staff – professors, Directors, employees - from around the world wished to send to the Haitians. Here they are:
“The catastrophic situation in Haiti is a concern for all of us in BRAC and Bangladesh. We […] extend our solidarity with the millions of people in Haiti.”
“It is a great shock. The scenario is devastating and we the Bangladesh know the pain of it. We are with you.”
“We the whole BRAC community in Afghanistan feels the sufferings of the Haitian people only by watching TV. We express our deep sympathy for them. […] BRAC is planning to do something centrally; we will be happy to be part of that effort.”
“I felt so sad when I heard about the earthquake and also when I watch it in the news. We all should help these people.”
“We are also shocked and mourning with Haitians in this massive and devastating situation. BRAC Bangladesh is also exploring how to join our hands and stand beside them in this emergency situation in solidarity.”
In a recent phone conversation, BRAC Founder and Chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed repeated his commitment to the future development of Haiti and emphasized that we stand by our partners on the ground.
You can support BRAC's commitment to help Hatians rebuild their lives by donating to the Hatian relief and rehabilitation fund.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, when we had trouble reaching our partners in Haiti and phone and internet lines were down, the Earth felt too big, the distances between each of us too gaping. Now, as communication resumes, as our partners report back and as emails of solidarity flood in from BRAC staff around the world, we are reminded of how connected we all are.
Last week, we sent out an email to BRAC colleagues and supporters calling for help in a Haiti Emergency Appeal. In return, we received messages of compassion and good wishes that BRAC staff – professors, Directors, employees - from around the world wished to send to the Haitians. Here they are:
“The catastrophic situation in Haiti is a concern for all of us in BRAC and Bangladesh. We […] extend our solidarity with the millions of people in Haiti.”
“It is a great shock. The scenario is devastating and we the Bangladesh know the pain of it. We are with you.”
“We the whole BRAC community in Afghanistan feels the sufferings of the Haitian people only by watching TV. We express our deep sympathy for them. […] BRAC is planning to do something centrally; we will be happy to be part of that effort.”
“I felt so sad when I heard about the earthquake and also when I watch it in the news. We all should help these people.”
“We are also shocked and mourning with Haitians in this massive and devastating situation. BRAC Bangladesh is also exploring how to join our hands and stand beside them in this emergency situation in solidarity.”
In a recent phone conversation, BRAC Founder and Chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed repeated his commitment to the future development of Haiti and emphasized that we stand by our partners on the ground.
You can support BRAC's commitment to help Hatians rebuild their lives by donating to the Hatian relief and rehabilitation fund.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Fonkoze Update
Thanks so much to all the BRAC staff, supporters and colleagues who are doing everything they can to support Haiti at this moment of crisis. We applaud the solidarity and collaborative spirit that has everyone working together, coordinating and ensuring the best use of people's contributions. Here's an update from the team at Fonkoze that you can use as you raise awareness and funds:
Fast Facts
- Fonkoze is Haiti’s largest MFI, with 40 branches and two satellite throughout the country.
- The Fonkoze Central Office is located in Port-au-Prince. It is currently uninhabitable and will need to be rebuilt. An estimated six other branches—including two in the direct Port-au-Prince area—have been affected though their condition has not been confirmed.
- Employees working in the Central Office at the time of the earthquake were evacuated successfully. There has been confirmation of the safety of some employee’s families, and confirmations that employees have lost their homes. There are many Fonkoze families who have not yet been confirmed safe.
- Fonkoze founders Anne Hastings and Father Joseph Philippe are confirmed survivors, along with many other senior staff members.
- Fonkoze is no stranger to disaster. Following the tropical storms and hurricane that hit Haiti in August-September 2008, roughly one-quarter of Fonkoze’s clients were affected- losing their homes, businesses, and assets.
- Fonkoze worked quickly to raise over $4 million to recapitalize clients’ loans, offer interest-free loans, and establish a disaster fund for the future.
- Fonkoze’s strength is their network of over 200,000 clients spanning the country. Unlike many institutions, Fonkoze is de-centralized. Though Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas have sustained serious damage, the majority of Fonkoze branches, staff, and clients throughout the country remain.
Fonkoze USA, the U.S. arm of Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest micro-lender, has established an Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Fund to support its relief and rehabilitation efforts. Supporters can donate to the fund at http://www.fonkoze.org.
The fund has already raised over $200,000
Given the damage to the Fonkoze Central Office and the likely damage to several other offices, Fonkoze will require a great deal of financial support in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Money raised through the “Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Fund” will be used to open an emergency operations center to re-establish operations in Haiti that currently directly supports some 200,000 clients or approximately 1,000,000 family members. The Fund will also support the acquisition of equipment and facilities to replace what was destroyed.At the same time, funds will be needed to help our staff members return to work and serve our borrowers. A major portion of resources mobilized through the Fund will be used to provide new loans for women who have lost their businesses and need to re-establish them and to be able to repay their original loans. House building and repair loans are also likely to be provided to clients who lost their homes.
To contact: Fonkoze USA, 50 F Street, NW, Suite 810, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 628-9033http://www.fonkoze.org
--Susan Davis
Making Haiti's Microfinance Work Again: Fonkoze Aims to Build Back Better
Haiti's largest microfinance provider, Fonkoze, serving over 200,000 customers with savings, loans and insurance, thereby benefiting one of nine million people in that small country. Its Director, Anne Hastings just reported this morning 3 of its 750 employees are confirmed dead, and many others are still missing. She also said that 24 of their 40 branches nation-wide are functioning.
Anne wrote that, "we have 1 that fell completely down (Bizoton). We have six damaged to the point that people can't go inside. Five are damaged but could conceivably be repaired. Five we have no word at all from." They have yet to receive news from Fonverret, Jakmel, and Lavale among others. We know these towns also suffered devastating damage from the earthquake.
On Saturday morning, Anne and Fonkoze CFO Georgette Jean Louis (a former regulator with Haiti's Central Bank) went on the radio to reassure customers that their savings was safe. The branches in the rural areas are meeting the needs of clients with the limited resources at their disposal. It is not yet business as usual because they cannot yet replenish them with the cash they need to operate as the country's banks are all closed. Most of the branches do have access to the internet, and if they receive a transfer and they have enough cash in their vault, they will pay it right away."
Fonkoze's staff in Port-au-Prince met at their head office and successfully recovered key files, records and equipment. They also prayed together for the colleagues, family members, clients and friends lost in this tragedy. They draw strength from knowing that people around the world care and are sending donations to help Haiti 'build back better' as President Clinton vows. Anne said that "our two biggest problems for the moment are getting our network up and running, which may happen today...and finding space for a leadership team (about 15 folks) to work out of in Port-au-Prince."
Using her limited access to internet, Anne also sent her assessment on Saturday:
"That is where Fonkoze is. But it doesn’t tell the whole story:
1. Food is scarce. The majority of grocery stores are not open, nor are the informal markets.
2. Fuel is even scarcer. For instance, I have two inverters – one is my own to run my refrigerator. The other is the landlady’s. Both will run out in a matter of hours, at best days. There is NO source of power to recharge these. The government power company will take months to restart. My building has no generator. Those that have, have no gas to run them. Almost no one has solar power (those in my building were stolen several years ago).
3. Most people are sleeping in the streets – literally. They have no homes left or if they do, they are afraid of the aftershocks, which have not stopped yet. Everywhere the people are singing and praying that God will spare them. Many of them have had no food or water for days.
4. It is impossible to distribute anything – food, water, cash, fuel -- because as soon as any of them appear, throngs of people arrive and fight over whatever is there! It will only get much worse in the days to come.
The country is in much, much worse shape. Many government buildings were destroyed, including the palace, the ministry of justice, the parliament and many more. The U.N. forces headquarters collapsed killing the head of the forces, as well as his assistant, a very dear friend of mine. The archbishop, a great supporter of Fonkoze, was killed. The prison collapsed allowing all prisoners to escape! In effect, the entire leadership of the country is very, very fragile.
The problem is how will the country ever rebuild? This is SO much worse than the worst hurricane, because in Haiti, hurricanes bring flooding but they do not often DESTROY buildings.
At the moment, it is next to impossible to distribute anything … drinking water, food, gasoline, cash – because as soon as any of them appear, throngs of people arrive!
At Fonkoze, we are trying to reassure everyone that their money is SAFE, even though it is not immediately accessible. We are doing everything we can to reopen as quickly as possible. But we cannot reopen without cash liquidity, security and employees – all of which are difficult to find in these days. And those three elements are only the start – we also need internet connectivity, fuel, transportation for our employees, etc. Some of our branches in the provinces escaped with nary a blemish – but even they cannot function without cash. So while we are doing everything we can to reopen, we don’t how long it will take.
What we know is that our website – www.fonkoze.org – will be the best source of information internationally and for those who don’t have an internet connection, the radio stations locally will carry our news.
Please understand that my first internet connection came today and I had 654 messages to download. I waited over an hour and only 278 made it through. Every time there was a wrinkle in the connection, Outlook started over! So I never was able to get to the rest of my messages. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better luck. Please forward this message to anyone you think may be waiting for it, as I have not gotten to everyone yet.
Our clients and our employees are going to need our support for many months to come. We hope you will be with them in your prayers, in your solidarity, and in your giving. We will NOT give up, and we hope that you will not either.
With sincere thanks,
Anne"
BRAC's leadership team is mobilizing to support Fonkoze and the people of Haiti. Access to credit to create income generating opportunities will be key to the recovery. A majority of the population is under 30: young people will need avenues to learn, earn and contribute to the country's development. Let's convert this crisis into an opportunity to support Haiti's development.
--Susan Davis
Friday, January 15, 2010
"A day felt like a year when buried alive"-- Haitians help each other survive
Photo from ReutersHaunting statements from survivors pulled from the rubble paint a vivid picture for those of us safe from Haiti's earthquake. One survivor quoted in the New York Times said, "a day felt like a year. You're buried alive. You can't scream; you wonder if anyone will ever come."
But help has been coming. While not highlighted in the media, the people of Port an Prince have been acting as fast as they can to locate loved ones and coworkers and neighbors. They have been taking responsibility to search through the rubble, if only with their hands, to dig out trapped survivors, recover their dead, and scrounge food and water to keep life going until the rest of the country and outside world can help.
They respectfully try to cover their dead in white sheets or whatever they can find. They put their wounded on cardboard and pull them to find treatment. They erect makeshift tents and shelter from the hot sun. They are clearing streets. They are using car batteries to power medical equipment. They are improvising.
Even the much maligned Haitian government is showing signs of leadership by asking people to go to the countryside if they can and have relatives. The first organized recovery efforts reportedly seen in the city were police trucks collecting the dead along the roadside and taking them for mass burial to ward off major health epidemics.
This activity suggests a different story: Haitians are helping themselves with great ingenuity, resourcefulness and dignity. Like Bangladeshis battered by cyclones and floods, they are people with enormous resiliency. We stand in solidarity and will support our neighbors' efforts to not only survive but thrive.
-Susan Davis
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Word from the Ground in Haiti, a Fonkoze Volunteer Writes of the Destruction
We received an e-mail today from Steve Werlin, a professor from Shimer College who works as a volunteer for Fonkoze, a partner organization of BRAC, in Haiti. Steve recounted the shock and destruction he's been witnessing for the past few days:
It was hard, at first, to take the whole thing seriously. We were violently shaken in the office as we closed for the day. One or two members of the staff fled outside. But when the first shock of it was over, we quickly checked the building for major damage. (We found none.)
We called our supervisor, who is based nearby in Jakmel, and we proceeded through the regular step-by-step process we follow to close our office at the end of the day. More like a carnival attraction than an act of god. It never occurred to me to contact anyone at home to let them know I was alright. Of course I was. I always am.
But then we started to hear things. There had been damage in Jakmel and Port au Prince. When we tried to call people on the phone, we discovered that it was hard,very hard, to get through. And rumors kept sounding more and more serious.
The gravity of circumstances began to weigh on me over the course of what seemed like a very long night, and when I went to the office the next morning, thinking less of opening than of figuring out how things stood, I was able to get on the internet and discover how very bad things are. The worst Caribbean earthquake in 200 years. Thousands dead. Tens of thousands homeless.
Just walking through Marigo at midday was enough to give the beginnings of a concrete sense of the devastation. Young people were gathered in small groups here and there around the town, listing friends who were away at school in Port au Prince and were either missing or confirmed as dead. Marigo is a small town, yet if you count only its Port au Prince college students, the death toll would have to be at least a dozen. And "college students from Marigo" is a very small subset of the population of Port au Prince. Even on our small Marigo staff, we have two who may have lost siblings.
And then I went to Jakmel. It's one of Haiti's larger cities, about ten miles west of Marigo. Though it's no closer to where the quake's epicenter is said to have been, the impact could not have been more different. Jakmel was devastated. Whole neighborhoods had been turned into rubble. My driver and I saw schools and hospitals that had collapsed with heavy casualties. Here and there we saw corpses in the streets or the rubble, most of them covered by sheets, but some still in whatever position the earthquake, which had struck about 24 hours earlier, had left them in. We saw what had once been an old man, one of his hands grasping the railing of his front porch and one of his feet stepping into the street when the roof pinned where he was and where he will remain until someone moves him to his grave.
The enormity of the disaster here will only emerge slowly in the coming days. I have no news of most of my Port au Prince friends, and may have to go there to get any.
Part of me is afraid to find out.
BRAC USA is accepting donations to support its partners in Haiti in providing relief and rehabilitation to the victims of the earthquake. Read more about BRAC USA's efforts here and donate directly to the Haiti relief and rehabilitation efforts here.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
“Bodies everywhere, Destruction massive”: Earthquake in Haiti
At 4 pm on January 12th, Anne Hastings, Director of Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest microfinance organization sent me an email detailing the itinerary for a BRAC Bank team visit to Haiti starting Saturday. Barely an hour later, a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince.
The International Red Cross estimates that 3 million people have been affected by the quake and the Prime Minister has estimated that the death toll could be as high as 100,000. School and hospitals have been severely affected, and an already fragile infrastructure is being stretched beyond its capacity.
Anne has just emailed saying that “Am ok but bodies everywhere. Destruction massive. Very little communication gets through even in country. Headquarters demolished. Need to figure out how to get operational again. Some, maybe many, branches can function but not without Headquarters support. Will send requests for help later when we know more.”
And in an earlier email, Anne wrote: “So far everyone is ok but we will never be able to work in HQ again. Not sure about Port au Prince branch. Trying to figure out how to get an emergency ops center but almost impossible to get around town or communicate with each other. More later.”
BRAC USA is mobilizing resources to support the relief and rehabilitation efforts working with its two partners in Haiti. In September 2009, Fonkoze, BRAC, BRAC USA, Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante with support from CGAP, CHF Partners in Rural Development and Linked Foundation launched a Partnership at the Clinton Global Initiative to break the cycle of disease and poverty in Haiti.
BACKGROUND ON BRAC IN HAITI
BRAC has been providing technical assistance to Fonkoze over the last several years to adapt its program for the ultra poor and at the request of our partners, is planning to expand operations on the ground for long-term development. BRAC's senior leadership are committed to Haiti's development and working in solidarity with the Haitian people. BRAC founder F.H. Abed and the head of its international operations, Aminul Alam, have offered to send medical teams and other support from Bangladesh if needed.
Fonkoze is Haiti’s largest micro-finance organization with a mission to build the economic foundation for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor – mostly women – with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. Fonkoze is national in scope with more than 40 branches throughout Haiti offering a full range of financial services to the rural-based poor, currently reaching more than 225,000 savers and borrowers. To learn more about Fonkoze visit www.fonkoze.org.
Zanmi Lasante, the Haitian sister organization of the U.S.-based NGO Partners In Health, is one of Haiti’s largest health care providers, serving a catchment area of 1.2 million in Central Haiti and the lower Artibonite Department. Zanmi Lasante has been working for more then two decades in Haiti to increase access to a full range of high-quality health services and to lift entire communities out of poverty through a range of social support and community development. To learn more about Partners in Health visit www.pih.org.
Donations are being accepted directly by both organizations at Fonkoze USA, http://www.fonkoze.org or
Partners in Health, http://act.pih.org/earthquake
or if you prefer, through the BRAC USA website to support rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Haiti, http://donate.bracusa.org.
You may also send personal checks to:
BRAC USA
11 E. 44th Street, #1600
New York, NY 10017
Note: Please highlight that your donation is for the Haiti Earthquake Rescue and Rehabilitation efforts.
BRAC USA is a legally registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations made to BRAC USA are fully tax deductible with the US Internal Revenue Service.
About BRAC/BRAC USA
BRAC, the largest non-profit in the developing world, was launched in Bangladesh in 1972 and currently touches the lives of more than 110 million people through its programs addressing poverty including micro-loans, education, health services, self-employment opportunities and human rights education. BRAC’s vision is to improve the health, wealth and well being of millions of the poorest families primarily in Asia and Africa. BRAC has provided $5 billion in micro-loans to nearly seven million borrowers, mostly women, and created 8.5 million self-employment opportunities. BRAC’s 73,000 community health promoters have provided basic health services to more than 93 million people. BRAC USA is an affiliate supporting BRAC. To learn more about BRAC, please visit www.bracusa.org.
The International Red Cross estimates that 3 million people have been affected by the quake and the Prime Minister has estimated that the death toll could be as high as 100,000. School and hospitals have been severely affected, and an already fragile infrastructure is being stretched beyond its capacity.
Anne has just emailed saying that “Am ok but bodies everywhere. Destruction massive. Very little communication gets through even in country. Headquarters demolished. Need to figure out how to get operational again. Some, maybe many, branches can function but not without Headquarters support. Will send requests for help later when we know more.”
And in an earlier email, Anne wrote: “So far everyone is ok but we will never be able to work in HQ again. Not sure about Port au Prince branch. Trying to figure out how to get an emergency ops center but almost impossible to get around town or communicate with each other. More later.”
BRAC USA is mobilizing resources to support the relief and rehabilitation efforts working with its two partners in Haiti. In September 2009, Fonkoze, BRAC, BRAC USA, Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante with support from CGAP, CHF Partners in Rural Development and Linked Foundation launched a Partnership at the Clinton Global Initiative to break the cycle of disease and poverty in Haiti.
BACKGROUND ON BRAC IN HAITI
BRAC has been providing technical assistance to Fonkoze over the last several years to adapt its program for the ultra poor and at the request of our partners, is planning to expand operations on the ground for long-term development. BRAC's senior leadership are committed to Haiti's development and working in solidarity with the Haitian people. BRAC founder F.H. Abed and the head of its international operations, Aminul Alam, have offered to send medical teams and other support from Bangladesh if needed.
Fonkoze is Haiti’s largest micro-finance organization with a mission to build the economic foundation for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor – mostly women – with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. Fonkoze is national in scope with more than 40 branches throughout Haiti offering a full range of financial services to the rural-based poor, currently reaching more than 225,000 savers and borrowers. To learn more about Fonkoze visit www.fonkoze.org.
Zanmi Lasante, the Haitian sister organization of the U.S.-based NGO Partners In Health, is one of Haiti’s largest health care providers, serving a catchment area of 1.2 million in Central Haiti and the lower Artibonite Department. Zanmi Lasante has been working for more then two decades in Haiti to increase access to a full range of high-quality health services and to lift entire communities out of poverty through a range of social support and community development. To learn more about Partners in Health visit www.pih.org.
Donations are being accepted directly by both organizations at Fonkoze USA, http://www.fonkoze.org or
Partners in Health, http://act.pih.org/earthquake
or if you prefer, through the BRAC USA website to support rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Haiti, http://donate.bracusa.org.
You may also send personal checks to:
BRAC USA
11 E. 44th Street, #1600
New York, NY 10017
Note: Please highlight that your donation is for the Haiti Earthquake Rescue and Rehabilitation efforts.
BRAC USA is a legally registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations made to BRAC USA are fully tax deductible with the US Internal Revenue Service.
About BRAC/BRAC USA
BRAC, the largest non-profit in the developing world, was launched in Bangladesh in 1972 and currently touches the lives of more than 110 million people through its programs addressing poverty including micro-loans, education, health services, self-employment opportunities and human rights education. BRAC’s vision is to improve the health, wealth and well being of millions of the poorest families primarily in Asia and Africa. BRAC has provided $5 billion in micro-loans to nearly seven million borrowers, mostly women, and created 8.5 million self-employment opportunities. BRAC’s 73,000 community health promoters have provided basic health services to more than 93 million people. BRAC USA is an affiliate supporting BRAC. To learn more about BRAC, please visit www.bracusa.org.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Devasting Earthquake in Haiti Requires Everyone to Respond: The Darkest Night
The lights are out. A devasting 7.0 earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti where over 9 million people live. Preliminary reports are that the capital city Port au Prince has severe damage and loss of life. BRAC's partner there, Fonkoze, is the largest provider of microfinance in the country.
Just minutes ago, I confirmed that Anne Hastings, the head of Fonokoze, and its staff in Port au Prince survived the earthquake. Unfortunately their head office sustained structural damage in the quake as did other major concrete buildings including many government buildings such as the palace, the Ministry of Commerce, the UN offices, Montana Hotel. If the largest and strongest buildings in Haiti have collapsed just imagine the situation in the slums and squatter settlements in the city. I shudder to think of the tragedy that will unfold in the days ahead. Please support Fonkoze respond and rebuild at http://www.fonkoze.org/ and through Fonkoze USA.
Another of our partners, Paul Farmer's Partners in Health reports that his sites and staff are ok as they are located north of the capital city. They are still collecting information on their staff in Port au Prince. Donations can be made at http://act.pih.org/earthquake
BRAC USA is committed to working together with groups on the ground to respond to this tragedy. We have been working in Haiti for several years to assist extremely poor families find a way out of project. We call it the Graduation Project as after a couple of years, they 'graduate' into microfinance. We were there recently and blogged about our trip on the Huffington Post. I think Haitians have an incredible resiliency. They will survive.
But this may be their darkest night.
Please do what you can to help.
Susan
Just minutes ago, I confirmed that Anne Hastings, the head of Fonokoze, and its staff in Port au Prince survived the earthquake. Unfortunately their head office sustained structural damage in the quake as did other major concrete buildings including many government buildings such as the palace, the Ministry of Commerce, the UN offices, Montana Hotel. If the largest and strongest buildings in Haiti have collapsed just imagine the situation in the slums and squatter settlements in the city. I shudder to think of the tragedy that will unfold in the days ahead. Please support Fonkoze respond and rebuild at http://www.fonkoze.org/ and through Fonkoze USA.
Another of our partners, Paul Farmer's Partners in Health reports that his sites and staff are ok as they are located north of the capital city. They are still collecting information on their staff in Port au Prince. Donations can be made at http://act.pih.org/earthquake
BRAC USA is committed to working together with groups on the ground to respond to this tragedy. We have been working in Haiti for several years to assist extremely poor families find a way out of project. We call it the Graduation Project as after a couple of years, they 'graduate' into microfinance. We were there recently and blogged about our trip on the Huffington Post. I think Haitians have an incredible resiliency. They will survive.
But this may be their darkest night.
Please do what you can to help.
Susan
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Real Reasons for Hope in Bangladesh by David Lawrence in The Miami Herald
THE MIAMI HERALD ran this story on January 2, 2010 after Dave Lawrence went to Bangladesh to visit BRAC and Grameen. Read this firsthand account by someone who is an expert in early childhood development and think about what we should be supporting in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other struggling nations.
Global warming easily could lead to rising sea levels that would make significant portions of this country uninhabitable.
While the infant mortality rate has been cut in half, it is still five times the rate of Florida's.
All that is true. So, too, is this: There is real reason to hope. That story can best be told through the women and the children.
Standout organizations
In part, this is a story of the difference made by nongovernmental organizations. Two NGOs in particular, both formed in the 1970s, stand out: Grameen Bank, founded by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize three years ago, and BRAC, founded by the equally impressive Fazle Hasan Abed. Between their two organizations and a concept called microcredit, literally millions of people have been lifted from poverty that is far deeper than we see anywhere in these United States.
The women first. Abed and Yunus figured out something important about women:
• One, loan them money, and they will pay it back (much more faithfully than many men).
• Two, when women make a profit their first thought won't be to spend it on themselves (as men so often do).
Over the decades, with no collateral required but an insistence on a reasonable plan and individual commitment, Grameen and BRAC have loaned what we would see as tiny amounts of money to buy, for example, a cow or a sewing machine or to set up a cellphone business.
The women of a village group gather weekly to repay their loans.
Believing in people
The simple principle here: Trust the people, believe in them and what they can and will do, and they will live up to their end of the bargain. Grameen and BRAC turn their share of the earnings into more loans for more people. And a nation -- of 85,000 villages and an agriculture-dependent economy -- is lifted.
It is a remarkable story.
Now, the children. The literacy rate in this country is 60 percent. It was 35 percent a quarter-century ago. There has been much progress. There is a great distance to go.
Give some of that credit to the government. Give some to BRAC and Grameen.
Grameen runs one-room ``pre-primary'' schools for 16,000 5 year olds. BRAC has ``child development centers'' for 17,000 4 year olds, 25,000 pre-primary schools for about 700,000 students and almost 40,000 primary schools (grades 1-6) with more than 1.1 million students.
Schools are located in villages and city slums near where the children live; if they weren't, many parents wouldn't send their children. School is six days a week, and 253 days a year (compared to our 180).
These children don't have the school buildings we have, or air conditioning or computers. (Often school is a corrugated tin shed with no glass in the windows.) Class sizes are larger than ours, but full of well-mannered children who are expected to behave -- and do. That is reinforced with a monthly parents meeting.
Learning two languages
One day we are in a rural pre-primary school in a village an hour and a half south of the capital. The children's sandals and flip-flops are gathered in a circle outside the classroom. Within, 33 bare-footed children sit around a circle on the carpet.
This year they have been learning the 51 letters of the Bangla language alphabet and the 26 letters of the English language alphabet. They are learning shapes and colors and numbers. They sing a song about brushing their teeth, and have other lessons in hygiene. They learn about the country's history, culture and wildlife. Each day begins with the national anthem, My Golden Bangla.
Teachers, who work from a research-based curriculum, know as well as our teachers do that children need to develop socially and emotionally as well as physically and cognitively.
They also know, as the curriculum guide says, that they need ``to inspire them to dream for a better life.'' I ask the children what dreams they have, and they go around the room: ``Pilot. Nurse. Policeman. Teacher. Doctor. Military man.'' And so forth.
Another day we are in a school located in a Dhaka slum, the stench of open sewers permeating the air. Fifteen children, ages 9 to 14, are learning Banga, English, social sciences.
The children sing the American civil rights anthem, We Shall Overcome. In English. I am overcome.
Things about this country that make me think about where we live:
• Population: Bangladesh, with 160 million people (making it the seventh-largest country in the world), is smaller in land area than the state of Florida with 18 million people.
• Traffic: The next time you're upset by all the traffic in South Florida, think about the capital city Dhaka, with at least seven million people. It's the fastest growing urban area on the planet. The darnedest conglomeration of beat-up motor-driven vehicles and pedal-propelled rickshaws speed along, and in and out, taking seemingly no notice of any lane markers.
• The homeless: Miami-Dade has an estimated 4,000 men, women, children homeless, three-quarters of whom are in shelters. In the streets of polluted, slum-ridden Dhaka there are an estimated 250,000 homeless children (some living on the streets with parents, many by themselves).
• Tolerance: This country -- almost 90 percent Islamic, almost 10 percent Hindu -- has a long tradition of people getting along. Bangladesh, born in 1971 of a bloody liberation from Pakistan (which itself was carved from India), has figured out a way to emphasize what people have in common.
Click here to see the full article in The Miami Herald.
David Lawrence is president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation in Miami, and "university scholar for early childhood development and readiness'' at the University of Florida.
Real reasons for hope in struggling nation
BY DAVID LAWRENCE JR.
DHAKA, Bangladesh -- This is one way to tell this nation's story: Half of all children live in abject poverty. Three-quarters of a million children toil at hard, exploitative labor. Corruption is among the world's worst (though decreasing).
Global warming easily could lead to rising sea levels that would make significant portions of this country uninhabitable.
While the infant mortality rate has been cut in half, it is still five times the rate of Florida's.
All that is true. So, too, is this: There is real reason to hope. That story can best be told through the women and the children.
Standout organizations
In part, this is a story of the difference made by nongovernmental organizations. Two NGOs in particular, both formed in the 1970s, stand out: Grameen Bank, founded by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize three years ago, and BRAC, founded by the equally impressive Fazle Hasan Abed. Between their two organizations and a concept called microcredit, literally millions of people have been lifted from poverty that is far deeper than we see anywhere in these United States.
The women first. Abed and Yunus figured out something important about women:
• One, loan them money, and they will pay it back (much more faithfully than many men).
• Two, when women make a profit their first thought won't be to spend it on themselves (as men so often do).
Over the decades, with no collateral required but an insistence on a reasonable plan and individual commitment, Grameen and BRAC have loaned what we would see as tiny amounts of money to buy, for example, a cow or a sewing machine or to set up a cellphone business.
The women of a village group gather weekly to repay their loans.
Believing in people
The simple principle here: Trust the people, believe in them and what they can and will do, and they will live up to their end of the bargain. Grameen and BRAC turn their share of the earnings into more loans for more people. And a nation -- of 85,000 villages and an agriculture-dependent economy -- is lifted.
It is a remarkable story.
Now, the children. The literacy rate in this country is 60 percent. It was 35 percent a quarter-century ago. There has been much progress. There is a great distance to go.
Give some of that credit to the government. Give some to BRAC and Grameen.
Grameen runs one-room ``pre-primary'' schools for 16,000 5 year olds. BRAC has ``child development centers'' for 17,000 4 year olds, 25,000 pre-primary schools for about 700,000 students and almost 40,000 primary schools (grades 1-6) with more than 1.1 million students.
Schools are located in villages and city slums near where the children live; if they weren't, many parents wouldn't send their children. School is six days a week, and 253 days a year (compared to our 180).
These children don't have the school buildings we have, or air conditioning or computers. (Often school is a corrugated tin shed with no glass in the windows.) Class sizes are larger than ours, but full of well-mannered children who are expected to behave -- and do. That is reinforced with a monthly parents meeting.
Learning two languages
One day we are in a rural pre-primary school in a village an hour and a half south of the capital. The children's sandals and flip-flops are gathered in a circle outside the classroom. Within, 33 bare-footed children sit around a circle on the carpet.
This year they have been learning the 51 letters of the Bangla language alphabet and the 26 letters of the English language alphabet. They are learning shapes and colors and numbers. They sing a song about brushing their teeth, and have other lessons in hygiene. They learn about the country's history, culture and wildlife. Each day begins with the national anthem, My Golden Bangla.
Teachers, who work from a research-based curriculum, know as well as our teachers do that children need to develop socially and emotionally as well as physically and cognitively.
They also know, as the curriculum guide says, that they need ``to inspire them to dream for a better life.'' I ask the children what dreams they have, and they go around the room: ``Pilot. Nurse. Policeman. Teacher. Doctor. Military man.'' And so forth.
Another day we are in a school located in a Dhaka slum, the stench of open sewers permeating the air. Fifteen children, ages 9 to 14, are learning Banga, English, social sciences.
The children sing the American civil rights anthem, We Shall Overcome. In English. I am overcome.
Things about this country that make me think about where we live:
• Population: Bangladesh, with 160 million people (making it the seventh-largest country in the world), is smaller in land area than the state of Florida with 18 million people.
• Traffic: The next time you're upset by all the traffic in South Florida, think about the capital city Dhaka, with at least seven million people. It's the fastest growing urban area on the planet. The darnedest conglomeration of beat-up motor-driven vehicles and pedal-propelled rickshaws speed along, and in and out, taking seemingly no notice of any lane markers.
• The homeless: Miami-Dade has an estimated 4,000 men, women, children homeless, three-quarters of whom are in shelters. In the streets of polluted, slum-ridden Dhaka there are an estimated 250,000 homeless children (some living on the streets with parents, many by themselves).
• Tolerance: This country -- almost 90 percent Islamic, almost 10 percent Hindu -- has a long tradition of people getting along. Bangladesh, born in 1971 of a bloody liberation from Pakistan (which itself was carved from India), has figured out a way to emphasize what people have in common.
Click here to see the full article in The Miami Herald.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
BRAC Founder & Chairperson to receive Knighthood for poverty work
Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, Fazle Hasan Abed, is to be knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services in tackling poverty and empowering the poor in Bangladesh and more globally. Abed’s name was included in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List released December 31, 2009.
Abed is to be appointed Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG). He is the first person of Bangladesh origin to be honoured with a knighthood by the British Crown since 1947. Abed receives his knighthood for his work spanning four decades in education, health, human rights and social development and for bringing financial services to the doorstep of millions of the poor in an effort to eradicate poverty in Bangladesh and countries in Asia and Africa.
On receiving news of his knighthood Abed said, “I am humbled by the honour to be conferred on me. I thank my colleagues in BRAC, who are at the forefront of the struggle to eradicate poverty in Bangladesh and abroad and I share this honour with them.”
Abed is the second person in his family to be honoured with a knighthood. His grand uncle, Justice Nawab Sir Syed Shamsul Huda, was knighted by the British Crown in 1913.
Click Here for BBC News Article announcing the honor.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
1,000 people Did Not Buy!
Already, 1,000 people have chosen NOT to buy to see what their re-directed money can do to improve the lives of the people BRAC reaches with its programs in microfinance, health, education, livelihood training and more.
Show your support and see what you can do by NOT buying - and help us reach 2,000 by th end of the year!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Choose Not to Buy and Join the Movement
Shoes? Sweaters? Handbags? We sometimes spend too much money on things that we don't need.
WhatIDidNotBuy.org is BRAC’s new approach to giving this holiday season. We are shifting the focus from superfluous items in the back of our closets to ending the cycle of poverty in the poorest communities in the world.
WhatIDidNotBuy.org was launched last week, and already close to 500 people have pledged not to buy various items ranging from Apple Ipods to Ugg Shoes.
We are excited that the New York Times featured WhatIDidNotBuy.org in this weekend's edition, highlighting the website and its attempt to redirect money towards the world’s neediest.
Join the movement now. Head out to whatididnotbuy.org and make a pledge that makes a real difference this holiday season.
WhatIDidNotBuy.org is BRAC’s new approach to giving this holiday season. We are shifting the focus from superfluous items in the back of our closets to ending the cycle of poverty in the poorest communities in the world.
WhatIDidNotBuy.org was launched last week, and already close to 500 people have pledged not to buy various items ranging from Apple Ipods to Ugg Shoes.
We are excited that the New York Times featured WhatIDidNotBuy.org in this weekend's edition, highlighting the website and its attempt to redirect money towards the world’s neediest.
Join the movement now. Head out to whatididnotbuy.org and make a pledge that makes a real difference this holiday season.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
BRAC Founder Fazle Abed Receives “Entrepreneur for the World” Award
The first ever “Entrepreneur for the World” Award in the Social Entrepreneur category was awarded to BRAC founder and chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed. He received the award during a ceremony at the World Entrepreneurship Forum held on November 19, 2009 in Lyon, France.The World Entrepreneurship Forum was established by EMLYON Business School, the leading European business school in entrepreneurship, and KPMG, the leading tax, audit and advisory services company. The Forum is founded on the conviction that the entrepreneur is a creator of wealth and social justice. The World Entrepreneurship Forum awards started in 2008 and 2009 is the first year that the Social Entrepreneur category was included in the awards category.
Click here to read the full press release.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
BRAC launches new website
BRAC has just launched a new website with interactive features where you can "meet" the people BRAC works with, learn about BRAC's programs in Africa and Asia, and get the latest information about what we're doing and how you can support our holistic approach to alleviate poverty.
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