While the world is watching a war unfold in Sudan, a heavy burden of the crisis is being felt in the youngest independent country, South Sudan, where thousands of people are fleeing to, adding to an already overwhelming displaced population.
Ayesha Abed led a life dedicated to work. At the core of her philosophy was the quest to ensure welfare of the people who were oppressed by the social systems pervasive in Bangladesh. She was a social worker, an organiser, and a visionary – all at once. In her personal life, she was a source of affection and love for her family members and friends.
How can we expand our tools for facilitating impact beyond traditional programming? BRAC’s Social Innovation Lab has been experimenting with games for behavioural change programming for quite a while now and based on this wealth of experience, here we have curated 5 pointers for people looking to create their very own behavioural change board game.
Nine out of every ten women in Bangladesh still don’t have access to digital financial services. What are the socio-economic barriers hindering their inclusion and how do we design solutions to bring down the barriers stopping women from making the digital transition?
Child sexual abuse is a silent epidemic, and statistics show it is only getting worse. What can we do to help our children understand the difference between a good touch and a bad touch? A good start is a 20-minute conversation.
Schools have finally reopened in Bangladesh, after 18 long months. Many schools are reporting lower student numbers, particularly of girl students. A school in Kurigram reported that just one girl student had returned to her class – the rest had been married during school closures. BRAC’s schools, where students often have the least internet access and support at home, and where teachers stayed in constant communication through phones, home visits and home-based projects, paint a different picture.
Schools in Bangladesh reopen this week after the world’s longest shutdown. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, BRAC was providing education for almost 750,000 students. During the extended closure, it continued teaching remotely, and ensured that close to 620,000 students graduated from their courses. The remaining students continued learning remotely and, after planning for reopening for months, BRAC opened its doors to 129,000 students this week. Amidst dire predictions of learning loss globally, it is quietly optimistic that its innovative measures to continue learning, combined with a rigorous approach to remediation will get its students back on track.
Dr Safiqul Islam spent 30 years building BRAC’s education programme. He joined BRAC in 1987, as a spirited young patriot who wanted to change his country, and, through his work with BRAC and Bangladesh’s education sector, he did. Bangladesh’s education sector has undergone significant transformation during the last three decades, and Dr Islam was a driving force behind them. Dr Islam worked tirelessly to materialise Sir Fazle Hasan Abed’s vision of a world free of inequality, through inspiring education practitioners across the world to get education to every child.
Bangladesh has a remarkable primary education enrolment rate – 97.97%, but 18.85% of students drop out before completion. Drop-out rates are even higher in urban informal settlements, hard-to-reach areas, such as haor (wetlands) and char (riverine islands). BRAC is seeing significant improvements in drop-out rates through the implementation of its Bridge Schools initiative – specially-designed, accelerated programmes to bridge learning gaps and support children to complete primary education
One in seven people in Bangladesh will be displaced due to climate change by 2050. The geographical location of the country already makes it vulnerable to climatic hazards, and the impacts of climate change have compounded these vulnerabilities. BRAC has been taking both mitigation and adaptation measures in response to the changing climate. Here is a snapshot of some of the ways BRAC is putting the Earth first.
As vaccinations are distributed globally and schools closed for months start planning to open, questions are being raised about what changes we need to our education system in a post-pandemic world. We have a unique chance to shape our curriculum and teaching and learning methods now for when we reopen, and climate change, diversity and gender equality are challenges that should be high on that priority list. Three schools in Bangladesh were globally recognised for their work in these areas in 2019; this blog takes a closer look at them.
Violence against women and children is rising. Child marriage is rising. Child brides are at even higher risk of violence, putting girls across the world in danger. As the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence close for 2019, let all us pledge to build a better world for girls and women. Here is a snapshot of what BRAC is doing.