Innovating to improveshifting lives in Bangladesh’s

most vulnerable communities

www.friendship.ngo

Friendship works

in Bangladesh’s

remote and

impoverished

communities.

WHO WE ARETo bring autonomy and dignity to the most

marginalised communities of Bangladesh,

Friendship develops innovative solutions based

on an integrated approach to development.

Created and directed by Runa Khan,

Friendship began its intervention in 2002 with

the innovative concept of a hospital ship plying

the Brahmaputra River to ensure access to

health care for ultra-poor communities. With

currently three hospital ships in operation,

25 satellite clinics and a network of over 550

community health workers, Friendship’s health

program benefit more than 250,000 people

every month.

In order to bring forth a meaningful improvement

to the quality of life for these communities

Friendship extended its intervention to

create an integrated development model

that includes, besides health, programs for

education, good governance, sustainable

economic development, disaster management

& infrastructure development and cultural

preservation. These six programs interact

to form an innovative development model

that engages communities, strengthen their

resilience and dignity and aims to sustainably

improve their living conditions.

Friendship, headquartered in Dhaka, employs

over 800 people in a network of 17 regional

offices. To develop its programs, Friendship

relies on its international network through

entities established in Luxembourg, the

Netherlands, France, UK and Germany

OUR HEALTHCARE PROGRAMME

Our hospital ships are

equipped with facilities

to assist with eye care,

dental care, paediatric

care, women’s health

care, investigation

services, ward services,

and other basic primary

and secondary health care

needs. Specialized health

camps provide secondary

health care. Fifteen differ-

ent types of surgeries are

offered to treat prevalent

issues with the help of

specialized doctors from

Europe and the United

States. The floating

hospitals move among

select communities to

facilitate access and

serve as many patients

as possible.

WHY OUR WORK IS IMPORTANT

Not only is Bangladesh perennially at risk of drought, famine, floodsand natural disasters, it struggles with extreme poverty and high population density.

Friendship’s work in vulnerable areas has become even more relevant amid growing concerns regarding climate change and its effects on high-risk countries of which Bangladesh tops the list.

Only 40% of rural

households have

electricity; child

marriages, though

banned by law,

are still common.

BANGLADESH AT A GLANCE

PovertyAccording to the World Bank, 66% of Bangladesh’s population live in the rural areas and about half of them live in poverty. Many people living in remote areas lack services such as education, health clinics and adequate communication infrastructure, particularly for access to markets; only 40% of rural households have electricity; child marriages, though banned by law, are still common.

Climate changeSeasonal floods have always been an integral part of Bangladesh’s history; however in recent years the changing global climate has caused floods here to become unpredictable and violent.

According to the World Bank, the geographical location, dominated by the huge and fertile Bengal delta, and the fact that more than half the country lies less than 6 meters (20 feet) above sea level, means Bangladesh is considered to be one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. Between 1980 and 2010, Bangladesh suffered 234 natural catastrophes, killing more than 190,000 people and causing untold destruction to lives and livelihoods.

Neighbouring countries are concerned about the potential for a least 20 million climate refugees to pour across borders in search of assistance as Bangladesh’ land disappears amid melting ice caps and glaciers as well as increasingly extreme weather.

Each year, about 500,000 migrants arrive in Dhaka, the crowded capital, which already is home to more than 15 million people. The population density in some slums can reach 1 million people per square kilometre.

Life expectancy on

the shifting sandbar

islands only reaches

the late 40s.

WHERE WE WORK

Northern BangladeshThe northern chars are some of the most inhospitable habitats anywhere, yet are home to a

nomadic population of 2 million, with an estimated one-third of these people living in extreme

poverty. Life expectancy on the shifting sandbar islands only reaches the late 40s. In the rains,

the islands shrink to slips of land with often just a few banana trees. Meanwhile, the soil, when

it exists, shows relatively high salinity and, consequently, low fertility. During the annual floods,

inhabitants and their livestock are forced to rooftops to survive and then to migrate when lands

are lost.

Southern BangladeshBay of BengalIn the southern regions, tropical cyclones, tidal waves and tidal surges are common;

climate change has made the situation even worse. Frequent storms sweep through the Bay of

Bengal causing flooding and erosion in the coastline and the islands. These disasters devastate

the coastal belt, destroying farmlands, infrastructure and houses, leaving the local population

without means of support.

OUR MISSIONTo strengthen marginalized communities and empower

people to reach their full potential through a needs-based, integrated development approach.

OUR VISIONA world where people, especially the hard to reach

and the unaddressed, will have equal opportunity to live with dignity and hope.

OURPROGRAMMES

Healthcare Nutrition and PopulationThree tier healthcare system, serving more than 250,000 patients per month through a network of 555 community health workers, 25 paramedics and 3 hospital ships

• 3 hospital ships each serving an average of 5,000 patients per month and inviting nearly 30 specialized medical missions per year

• 425 clinic days conducted through satellite and static clinics

• Telemedicine Program equipping 50 community health agents with smartphones for diagnostic and treating purposes (M-Health)

• Participation in a pilot project to increase the use of telemedicine services through the help of satellites to extend Internet access to remote areas of the globe (SatMed)

EducationFriendship’s Education programme operates in 88 communities and positively impacts a total of 26,753 families

• 83 primary and secondary schools with 4,960 students. The students have a 100% success rate at the national examinations for the past 4 years.

• 71 functional literacy centres training 1,409 adults and adolescents

• 201 teachers, all from local communities and trained by Friendship

• Innovative program to teach English called “Listen2Learn”

Sustainable Economic Development• Since 2011, over € 1.5 million has been disbursed as micro-loans to small rural entrepreneurs

• 301 “Friendship Community Development Committees”, composed of 40% women, that offer support for agriculture, irrigation, fishing and solar electrification

• 7 weaving, dyeing and printing centres and 2 sewing centres which trains more than 135 women a year and employs more than 140.

• Since 2014, 581 solar home systems were installed to provide access to electricity to remote rural households.

Good governanceThe program is active in 21 chars, hosting more than 70,000 inhabitants

• Introduction to good governance has been introduced in 16 public schools and 5 Friendship schools, bringing together 1,545 students

• Training in good governance principles followed by 6,100 participants, out of which 75% are women

Disaster Management and Infrastructure Development• Community Programme for reducing risks related to natural disasters involving 47 groups and 1,380 members and touching over 80,000 beneficiaries

• Emergency Assistance to 4 million people in 11 years

• Construction of 6 desalination plants providing drinking water to over 80,000 people

Cultural preservation• Preservation of traditional wooden boat building techniques - more than 87 models of boats identified and documented

• Travelling exhibitions in many museums and galleries in Bangladesh, France, Luxembourg and Japan which attracted over 400,000 visitors

• Living Museum Project of the boats of Bangladesh.

OUR GOALSFINANCES• Increase the number of primary schools and adult literacy centres and develop a secondary school programme

• Increase the number of community medic aids, from 555 to 605 and equip 500 agents with the M-Health technology

• In the coastal belt, build 6 static clinics, achieve the construction of a land-hospital and start the construction of an innovative cyclone shelter

• Allow 18,000 beneficiaries to benefit from our microfinance-based programme and install 1,800 solar panels, by 2017

• Reinforce people’s capacity to deal with natural catastrophes by extending our DMID programme and by building adapted shelters

• Ensure the financial sustainability of our Weaving centres by extending the commercialisation of the items they produce

Annual Budget(July 2015 – June 2016)7.8 Millions EUR (663 200.000 BDT)

HealthcareNutrition and Population

67.1%10.6%

9.8%

8.3%

Education

Disaster Management & Infrastructure Development

Sustainable Economic

Development

0.4% Cultural Preservation

Good Governance 3.9%

Please help reach our ambitious goals by donating to Friendship!

Friendship Luxembourg is a charity recognized by the Luxembourg Ministry of Cooperation and donations made to it are tax deductible within the limits provided for by law

To make a donation by bank transfer:

Account Name: Friendship LuxembourgBank Name: Banque de LuxembourgBIC Code: BLUXLULLEURO Account: IBAN Code: IBAN LU68 0080 2121 6830 2008

info@friendship.ngowww.friendship.ngo