Empowering and investing in women

We’re so pleased to welcome Reena Agarwal to our board of Trustees. She brings a wealth of experience in international development and a passion for social justice. Reena reflects on her time in Bangladesh and previous work with women’s cooperatives…

I recently joined AzuKo as the International Development Trustee. I’m responsible for providing strategic advice in relation to our work delivered overseas. Over the last three months I’ve been humbled to learn more about AzuKo’s work with women, in particular the transfer of skills and knowledge to increase safety and wellbeing in their homes and communities.

More women live in poverty than men. Many have limited access to credit, healthcare and education and the impacts of that are further aggravated by global food and economic crises, as well as climate change.

Hearing about AzuKo’s Heart of the home project in Dinajpur – empowering women to be design leaders – took me back to my time to Bangladesh eight years ago when I visited an all female cooperative in Rangpur. Cooperatives are enterprises controlled by and run for the benefit of their members, where profits are held to develop the business or are returned to the members, rather than benefiting third parties. They generate jobs which in turn provide income. This set up is very powerful as it provides financial independence to their members and empowers them to plan for and be in control of their future.

The cooperative in Rangpur was working with Oxfam in the Enterprise Development Programme with the aim of expanding their operations so they could own more of the dairy supply chain thus getting more of the value and in turn increased income.

They lived in precarious conditions on chars – silt lakes which flood at certain times of the year. During these times they had to migrate to shelters with their cattle but despite this challenge they were certain that together they could make the project work. They told me that clarity, transparency and fairness were key. They wanted to make sure the weighing scales were accurate, that everyone was clear on their role and that all members were happy with the salary they received.

“I was blown away by their collective vision, their dedication and ability to grasp new skills. Each member had a voice around the table, the energy was contagious. It was no surprise to me that this group of women were successful in achieving their longterm plans in a fair and equitable way. ”

Empowering and investing in women – which AzuKo does so well – is crucial for the wellbeing of individuals, families and rural communities to prosper and lift themselves out of poverty. Rural women are key agents in the sustainable development process and are a catalyst for transformative economic, environmental and social change.

I’m very much looking forward to visiting the communities that AzuKo is working with to understand more about their environment, hear about their vision for the future and the opportunities they foresee.

Meet more of AzuKo’s team.

Author: R. Agarwal

A complex road to recovery

As of 12th October, official reports show 379,738 confirmed coronavirus cases in Bangladesh and 5,555 related deaths. It ranks 16th most affected country in the world. However, the situation in-country feels very different. The cost of coronavirus tests and the potential implications of being seen as ‘COVID-positive’ mean many go untested. We don’t know the true scale or spread of the virus.

But coronavirus is just one of the many challenges people are facing. Lockdown has resulted in extreme food shortages. Labourers rely on their daily wage to put food on the table. Without work, there is none. There’s been violence between police and communities. Child abuse has increased and we’re seeing a serious impact on mental health.

In May, super-cyclone ‘Amphan’ hit the coast, travelling north across the country. 10 million people were affected, 330,000 houses damaged and 55,600 destroyed. People had to choose whether to stay in their homes and brave the cyclone or find a shelter and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with 1,500 people, at a time when they were being told to social distance. At least 100,000 people were displaced and forced to stay on embankments. 118 people lost their lives.

Reports estimate damage to electricity grids, schools, bridges, embankments, roads, drinking water sources, and community infrastructure, at a cost of £130 million.

Then, as communities began to rebuild after Amphan, the monsoon rains came and didn’t stop. In June, another tragedy hit. The mighty Brahmaputra River burst its banks, submerging up to 37% of the country. Nearly a million homes were inundated, affecting 4.7 million people. At least 135 have died, most of them children.

Coronavirus, Amphan and monsoon have collided to create complex crises, the effects being felt most heavily by the poorest, particularly those in the informal sector. These ‘black swan’ events are no longer once-in-a-lifetime challenges, but increasing in number and severity.

I recently heard the term ‘Project Everyone’ referring to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs (the global commitment to peace and prosperity for all). It has never felt more true and more necessary. Governments, public, private and third sectors, we all need to contribute. The road to recovery in Bangladesh is long, the road to an equitable world much longer.

AzuKo will continue to serve those who are disproportionately affected by coronavirus. We exist to ensure they do not fall further in between the cracks.

So far we have:

• delivered vital hygiene supplies to 2,990 families without access to the basics – soap, sanitiser, disinfectant, face masks and other PPE

• reached over 27,000 with our virus prevention campaign (sharing information for how to keep safe) via audio rickshaws, leaflets and community banners

• trained our frontline staff, volunteers and heads of 14 wards in best practice, including hand washing techniques and dispelling COVID myths and rumours

• provided protective equipment (PPE) for our frontliners

Read more about our coronavirus response

Thank you to all our supporters who continue to make our work possible. It has been a challenging few months but we march on, determined to play our part.

Author: Jo Ashbridge

The right to play

Our work with JAAGO Foundation in Bangladesh centres around the importance of play for children’s development. The brief is to design a playground which incorporates a range of learning opportunities in a richly rewarding place.

“We believe play is far more than letting off steam and is a fundamental right of all children, everywhere.”

We've been addressing our assumptions head on... what does play mean in a Bangladesh context? What do playscapes look like? What games do children play?

Who better to ask than the students themselves. Meet Ridoy, he's 6 years old.

(Photo: J. Ashbridge)

Ridoy is the youngest of three children, and lives with his mother and father. His family make icecream and at the weekends he sometimes joins them to sell door to door. From Monday to Friday he attends kindergarten class at one of JAAGO's schools. He's learning the Bangla alphabet, English, maths and art... and dreams of becoming a doctor one day.

Ridoy loves to play games with his friends, everything from 'pani e ebong' (ice-water) which is similar to the British game of stuck in the mud and 'ilish ilish' (fish fish) a two team game involving tiptoeing and guessing who dun'it, to the widely played Bangladeshi favourite 'kutkut' which is a variant of hopscotch.

... but his real favourite is cricket.

We’ll be designing with Ridoy in mind. Find out more about our JAAGO playspace project.

Author: J. Ashbridge