The Peshawar incident in Pakistan in which 145 people including 132 children were massacred in a school, has shocked the world. It gave rise to various debates such as whether children, especially girls, residing in conflict-prone areas should remain at home to stay safe from the Taliban. Amidst this environment of uncertainty, there are those who consider a child’s right to education to be above everything else. Organisations like BRAC still choose to continue working in the conflict-stricken, hard-to-reach areas across Asia and Africa.
Bangladesh is a recent entrant into branchless banking – deployments only began in earnest in the middle of 2011. CGAP reviewed the first year of branchless banking (referred to as “mobile financial services” in Bangladesh) together with Bangladesh Bank up to March 2012.
BRAC at International Conference on Framework for Economic Growth in Pakistan Starting today, the Government of Pakistan and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are co-hosting a 2-day conference in Islamabad titled “A Policy Dialog on the New Growth Strategy of Pakistan Moving Forward”. The UNDP has invited Dr. Mahabub Hossain, Executive Director of BRAC, (pictured above) to be the lead speaker for the conference’s session on “Connecting to the Community Engagement.” The roundtable will cover community engagement, market reforms, innovation, among other topics.
The following was originally posted by BRAC USA President & CEO Susan Davis on The Huffington Post. This morning, I received a touching letter from Munshi Sulaiman about his recent trip to Pakistan to see BRAC’s Ultra Poor program there. Munshi has been working with BRAC for the last 8 years and currently coordinates BRAC’s research activities outside Bangladesh.
Below is an e-mail we receive from the head of BRAC in Pakistan regarding yesterday’s earthquake. Dear Everyone, Hope you are well and fine.
BRAC Pakistan received the Humanitarian Excellence Award from RAKz Communications (Pvt) Ltd.We are also humbled by a public display of appreciation (photo below) by the people of Mohibanda, a village in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province that was fully damaged by the floods. The message on the wall speaks of the villager’s appreciation to BRAC and the Bangladeshi people and their hopes of farms and nurseries in Mohibanda flourishing because of new water pumps installed by BRAC as part of our flood rebuilding efforts there.
In Microfinance:For its reporting on Social Indicators, BRAC Pakistan is a 2010 recipient of the Silver Award from Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), sponsored by CGAP. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and Ford Foundation. “We are much delighted and inspired by the award,” says Mr. Muhammed Faridur Rahman, CEO of BRAC Pakistan. In 2009, BRAC in Bangladesh was also a recipient of the same award from MIX.
This post was originally posted by Susan Davis in the Huffington Post blog. Imagine if Hurricane Katrina struck all the states from Florida to Massachusetts and massive floods washed away homes and businesses, destroyed roads and bridges, and devastated the lives of tens of millions of Americans. How would we react in the immediate aftermath? How quickly would we respond to the urgent need to provide food, water and health care to the victims? How would the media respond? We know the answer. There would be wall-to-wall daily coverage with stories of devastation and emergency response, and a clarion call to Americans with direction on the most effective way to help those in need.
Over 20 million people have been affected by the floods in Pakistan, 75% of whom are in the Sindh and Punjab provinces. The floods damaged or destroyed 1.9 million houses.BRAC has a relief and rehabilitation program in place in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The flood waters have started to recede and the displaced population is returning to their homes and villages.
Almost 21 million people are now reported as having been directly affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan. With 23 out of 94 BRAC Pakistan’s microfinance branches affected by the flooding, BRAC is close to the people and communities that have been suffering as the disaster began to unfold in July.
BRAC Pakistan initiated its relief effort for the flood victims in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, specifically within the communities in which it operates across Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera. As the floods moved south, BRAC has expanded its relief work into the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan.
Summary of BRAC’s relief work in Pakistan since on August 2nd: Flood relief packets distributed to78,000 individuals. 15,000 patients treated at BRAC’s medical camps. Food relief packets given to over 13,000 families. Hand tube wells installed at 57 locations, restoring clean water supply to over 14,000 people (see photo) Re-building homes, repairing homes, fixing sanitation systems, clearing roads (collectively, “Cash for Work” activities) for the benefit of over 4,700 people.