On October 10, 2020, Friendship hosted a roundtable conference which gave a national platform to grassroots organisations working at the forefront of the struggle against the climate crisis. Fifty-three grassroots organisations battling climate disasters in some of...
Saving Lives
Change Can Happen from Bottom Up
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 and Relief, high officials from the Department of Disaster...
Ear to the Earth
The key to adaptation lies in listening intently to locals and communities at the forefront of the climate crisis by Runa Khan, founder and executive director, Friendship In 2004, I was visiting our hospital ship in the river islands (chars) of the Brahmaputra. This...
Crisis Fatigue
by Runa Khan, Founder and Executive Director, Friendship The blessing that gives Bangladesh its natural abundance also leaves it vulnerable to nature’s more destructive forces. Bangladesh is formed at the mouth of two of the largest rivers of the world: the...
Guardians of the embankment
by Naushad Ali HuseinJune 10, 2020 On May 20th Super-cyclone Amphan began heading towards the shore of Padmapukur, a cluster of coastal villages in Bangladesh. As the majority of its villagers took shelter, Friendship's Uttam Kumar lead 30 young volunteers to repair...
Build for the crises to come
While we work to protect our communities and our countries against Covid-19, we need to also prepare them to deal with the climate crisis, writes Runa Khan. It feels as though nature has left humankind reeling, our sense of vulnerability siphoned collectively towards...
Friendship Food Bank – a New Initiative to Ensure Food Security
by Raeed Abd-Allah Chowdhury The outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected over 4.8 million people, and over 315,000 fatalities at the time of writing. In Bangladesh, infections have surpassed 23,000 and continue to rise exponentially. Undoubtedly, this...
Friendship Spreads Hope in Dhaka
As the Covid-19 pandemic hits Bangladesh’s capital, Friendship is providing relief supplies to its poorest areas. by Raeed Abd-Allah Chowdhury Cities across the globe are experiencing the worst social and economic repercussions of Covid-19. Dhaka, one of the most...
Fighting To Save Lives – Building On The Community’s Strength
A message from the founder and executive director Runa Khan This week Bangladesh has entered a critical phase in the spread of COVID-19 infections, with the number of cases now rising rapidly. Each day people will die. There is no escaping this reality. Things...
Silent Catastrophe
The terrors the Rohingya people fled are well known to the world. But in their new reality, many continue to suffer from psychosocial conditions. by MALIHA KHANMarch 12, 2020 Nurun Nahar must return home to her children. Half an hour stolen between feeding her family...
Mobile medics
Friendship medics-aides deliver doorstep healthcare using mobile app mHealth by NAUSHAD ALI HUSEINMarch 2, 2020 Shahjahan, 40, is suffering from severe diarrhoea. Given the nearest hospital is a four-hour journey over river and land, Shahjahan’s condition could easily...
Always Prepared
Young volunteer rescuers spring into action during climate disasters Shahjadi Begum on the spot where her home was before the flood by Naushad Ali HuseinNovember 21, 2019 Shahjadi Begum woke up at 1 a.m. to find the river roaring through her veranda. Before going to...