We provide electricity to the ultra-poor in remote rural areas that are off the national electrical grid. The low-cost Solar Home Systems bring electric power to the houses, allowing children to read or study after sunset, parents to cook or work, phones to charge, and shops to remain open after dark. This renewable energy is also healthier and less of a fire hazard than old kerosene lamps and people feel more secure. Friendship has built the first solar energy micro-grid in char area to bring more power to households, with more under construction

We train local char dwellers as micro-entrepreneurs in a variety of jobs that give services to their communities, while also being an income source for themselves. Para-Solar Technicians manage the sale, installation, repair and maintenance of our Solar Home Systems and their accessories. Their presence is essential to ensure that the systems remain operational. The Para-Vets provide basic, primary veterinary care, as well inoculations, medicine, diagnoses and rearing advice for the livestock in their communities, thereby ensuring the good health of the animals.

Many families in rural Bangladesh are so poor that when a disaster strikes, they cannot cope and sink deeper into poverty. To break this vicious cycle, Friendship supports families to move from dependency to relief and rehabilitation aid to actual development. It is a transition from deep poverty to resilience. We act transversally on their economic, social and political vulnerabilities through the strengthening of skills and knowledge, the creation of savings plans, access to livelihood options, information on public support services and advocacy for the mobilisation of local authorities in the fight against poverty through poverty maps.

We assist and train farmers to diversify their crops, adopt more efficient farming methods, use newer machinery, and access and select suitable high-quality seeds; all of which bolster their yields and provide these farmers with additional income that will be helpful in case of a hard blow. Using both the local knowledge from the communities combined with thoroughly researched expert methodologies, a special focus is put on climate-adaptive agriculture techniques such as floating seed beds or flood- and salinity-resistant crop varieties.

In rural areas, livestock are a significant investment for families and are often their most valuable asset. Livestock are often a large portion of their revenue stream and, as such, have an importance on their well-being. Friendship enables char dwellers, particularly women, to acquire a cow or other types of livestock for fattening and then sale during festivals as an additional source of income for the family.

Bangladesh has various social programs available specifically for ultra-poor and landless families who are in dire need of assistance. Through the intermediary of empowered community workers, we assist people in the most isolated areas to gain access to public services that they were otherwise unaware of. These services can be instrumental in climbing out of the poverty trap.

Fishing in the Bay of Bengal is a hazardous occupation because of extreme climatic conditions and the fluctuating prices of fish in the market. Fishermen have been forced over generations to turn to local moneylenders and become trapped in permanent debt, as their income is insufficient to repay the high interest charges and loan capital. To lift them out of this trap, we strive to liberate fishermen and their families from their debts to moneylenders and we create opportunities for them to generate a fair income, get safer equipment and obtain a fairer market price.

Friendship strives to preserve Bangladesh’s irreplaceable boat-building heritage before it is lost forever. Working with the last remaining carpenters who are able to transmit their ancestral, technical skills is a way of documenting and preserving this national heritage, while at the same time providing them with means to still make an income out of a traditional but highly complex skillset

With the pioneering batches of Friendship Primary School students graduating from high school, a Career Guidance Cell (CGC) was formed in January 2021. The cells have helped graduates get into the best universities, polytechnics or institutions of higher study. It has also helped some get jobs.

The SED Hub is a community-based one-stop service point where small businessmen, social entrepreneurs, farmers, fishermen, etc. are able to access all forms of vital services 24/7 to the isolated communities.

Field staff help farmers and fishermen to get registered with the relevant government departments. This entitles them to benefits such as subsidies on machinery and supplies, and helps them sell their produce at better prices.