Bangladesh

Focusing on Bangladesh...

Facts about Bangladesh:

Capital: Dhaka

Population: 154.7 million

National anthem: Amar Sonar Bangla

Official Language: Bengali Language

Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh South Asia. It is bordered by India to its west, north and east; Burma to its southeast and separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the Chicken’s Neck corridor. To its south, it faces the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh is the world's eighth-most populous country, with over 160 million people, and among the most densely populated countries. It forms part of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal, along with the neighbouring Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.

The present-day borders of Bangladesh took shape during the Partition of Bengal and British India in 1947, when the region used to be known as East Pakistan, as a part of the newly formed state of Pakistan. It was separated from West Pakistan by 1,400 km of Indian territory. Due to political exclusion, ethnic and linguistic discrimination and economic neglect by the politically dominant western wing, nationalism, popular agitation and civil disobedience led to the Bangladesh Liberation War and independence in 1971. After independence, the new state endured poverty, famine, political turmoil and military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress. In 2014, the Bangladeshi general election was boycotted by major opposition parties, resulting in a parliament and government dominated by the Awami League and its smaller coalition partners.

Bangladesh is a unitary parliamentary republic with an elected parliament called the Jatiyo SangshadBengalis form the country's largest ethnic group, along with indigenous peoples in northern and southeasterndistricts. Geographically, the country is dominated by the fertile Bengal delta, the world's largest delta. The four largest and constitutionally recognized religions in the country are Islam (89%), Hinduism (8%),Buddhism (1%) and Christianity (0.5%).

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Bangladesh is identified as a Next Eleven economy. It has achieved significant strides in human and social development since independence, including in progress in gender equity, universal primary education, food production, health and population control.^[6][7][8] However, Bangladesh continues to face numerous political, economic, social and environmental challenges, including political instability, corruption, poverty, overpopulation and climate change.

Bangladesh is a founding member of SAARC, the Developing 8 Countries and BIMSTEC. It contributes one of the largest peacekeeping forces to the United Nations. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, theOrganization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement.

For more information on Bangladesh visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh

ADRA Bangladesh:

A liberation war in 1971 resulted in Bangladesh formerly known as East Pakistan becoming independent from Pakistan. The nine-month war ended with more than 5 million peoples dead, millions of houses destroyed, the shutdown of industry and a devastated communication infrastructure. Moreover, more than 10 million Bangladeshi’s fled to India as refugees. In addition, recurring disasters like floods and cyclones crippled the country’s capacity for crop production.  The country was completely devastated. Thus the newly formed government welcomed foreign aid.

ADRA Bangladesh is in the capital city Dhaka

The Seventh-day Adventist World Service (SAWS), a voluntary non government organization started its operation in Bangladesh at this time. Its initial activates centered on relief and rehabilitation by rebuilding villages, roads, and bridges. Gradually, it initiated a few development projects such as Polliwog, a handicrafts business which provided income generation for jobless women and a seed bank. The main donors were SAWS Washington, SAWS India. NSW SAWS (Australia), Asian Aid, World Vision, Canadian Aid. US Aid, Uplift Donation (Ingathering) and several private donors.

SAWS name was changed worldwide to Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in 1984 (the government of Bangladesh recognized the change in 1984) and in 1988 the operational direction was focused towards humanitarian development projects.

ADRA has also been involved in every major disaster responses. The primary thrust of ADRA Bangladesh has been to provide resources to its target beneficiaries, mainly in rural areas, enabling them to be self-reliant. Presently, ADRA is operating the Women Empowerment Project, Birol Homesite resources Development Project, Empowering Flood Prone Community Project, Mirpur Mother and Child Health Project, Street Children Project, Urban Agriculture Project, Capacity Building for Farmers Family Project and Pollywog Handicraft, while also running providing clean water and sanitation facilities for rural villages. Basic shelter, AIDS education, Mother and Child Health Program, as well as several smaller projects.
ADRA Bangladesh is a private non-governmental organization registered with the NGO Affair Buresu of Government of Bangladesh and a member of the Disaster Emergency Response (DER group) a LCG (Local Consultative Group) in Bangladesh.

ADRA Projects:

Primary Health

Health programs focus on improving overall community health, particularly for women and children. 

Economy Development

Income generation programs are integral to improving financial conditions at the community level. When families are economically stable, direct and positive impacts on life quality are seen. 

Disaster Response

ADRA is committed to providing assistance in crisis situations and works towards long-term sustainability. Disaster mitigation activities assist communities to become resilient in times of a disaster.

Food Security
Food security is fundamental in developing stability and self sustainability in the community. This positively impacts health status and quality of life.

Basic Education

Basic Education for children and women is the cornerstone of development. It is one of the most effective means of breaking the cycle of poverty and opening windows of opportunities.

Visit http://www.adrabangladesh.org/ for more information