A prescription for pragmatic disaster risk reduction solutions On October 10, ahead of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Friendship brought together grassroots actors in disaster management together with the Honourable Minister for Disaster Management...
As schools remain shut, Friendship’s digital lessons are shared nationally by Niamh Rowe Currently, due to COVID-19, 50% of students across the world are learning from home. At the virus’s peak in April, that figure stood at 90%, impacting 1.8 billion students,...
A whole village disappears under water, yet the community continues its schooling. Mamotaz Begum’s village is at the bottom of the river. Where there were once homes of some 350 families, among lush corn and paddy fields, vegetable gardens, a mosque, shops—only the...
Friendship’s community leaders stand by villagers facing Covid-19 lockdown If you’re reading this on a device connected to the Internet, in a space with adequate lighting and sound roofing, staying home is easy. For Lavli, whose home is a one-room corrugated iron hut...
Being unaware of your rights is as good as not having any by Raeed Abd-Allah Chowdhury After getting married, Bilkis was emotionally and physically abused by her in-laws for not bringing in enough dowry. The law in Bangladesh criminalizes the extraction of dowry from...
Narrated by: Bipasha Khatun, Friendship Medical Assistant at Balukhali 1 at the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar National (FDMN) camps in Ukhiya: I came across a little girl who was helping the medical assistants usher in patients. Named Sadia, this 7-year-old was also...
Momota has been married for over 10 years, and lives with her husband and two sons on a riverine island (char) called Khockhali in Gaibandha district. Even though it has been quite some time, Momota has yet to receive her mehr (dower), a mandatory payment from the...
Rani, meaning queen in Bangla, lives up to her namesake. She was the oldest among her siblings in the remote village of Radhabalabh, 28 km from the nearest district town. At the age of 15, Josna Rani’s family married her off to a day labourer; being forced to do so...
When Chandra was a girl, she lived in a char (riverine island) so remote that she did not have any access to education. In her village there were no schools, or even opportunities to learn in an informal setting. She lived most of her life without even knowing how to...
Twelve-year-old Akhi is a student at one of Friendship’s secondary schools. She is one of five children in a family living in the chars of Bangladesh. Since her mother stays at home to take care of the house and children, the burden of earning household income...