The destructive cyclone Bhola —one of the biggest natural disasters over time— and a bloody war of independence composed the puzzle of the situation in Bangladesh at the beginning of the 1970s. The results were disastrous, with thousands of deaths and people in conditions of extreme poverty. Extreme poverty, as defined by the United Nations (UN), is a condition characterized by deprivation of basic human needs, including food and safe drinking water, as well as access to facilities, such as health and education.
A businessman from Bangladesh, Fazle Abed, was willing to help his community overcome this difficult situation. Thus, he abandoned his career and in 1972 he established BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). Through this organization he offered help to his fellow citizens —and especially women, who were most affected by this situation— in four stages, like a pyramid beginning from basic to least basic elements. At the bottom was survival, which was secured by providing food and money. A little higher, a decent livelihood through the exploitation of property or fauna was secured, while higher up was education in matters of saving money, budgeting and investments. Social integration in local communities was at the top of the pyramid.
Through his program, Abed helped more than 9 million people from 2002 up to his death in 2019. The program’s success led him to expand his organization outside the narrow boundaries of Bangladesh. Bearing in mind the vision of building a world free of every kind of exploitation and discrimination, in which everyone would realize their own capabilities, BRAC gradually evolved into a global leader in creating opportunities with the intention of eradicating poverty. Today —in spite of its founder’s death— it’s the number one non-governmental, developmental organization, affecting almost 138 million people in 2 countries.
An example of this organization’s successful action, as Abed’s daughter describes during a TED talk1, is that of Jorina. Jorina was born in a remote village in northern Bangladesh. She never attended school and at the age of 15 she married a violent husband who abandoned her with two children. Her children never attended school and were seriously malnourished. She got into the program in 2005, receiving 1 dollar a week, two cows, education in the business sector and a weekly visit from a mentor. Indeed, the program worked: Jorina now owns a house for her family, she runs the biggest grocery in the area and —most importantly— she envisions a better future for her children.
BRAC of course is not the only organization that undertakes actions for the eradication of extreme poverty. These actions have already gained an international dimension, beyond the narrow boundaries of a group of people or a country. In 2015 189 of the countries that belong to the United Nations have agreed to a series of actions aiming at peace and prosperity for the people and the planet in general, designing 17 related goals towards 2030.
The first goal concerns the eradication of poverty. Individual targets are the eradication of extreme poverty, the reduction of poverty by 50%, the enactment of social welfare systems, the safeguarding of equal property rights, basic services, technology and financial sources and the resilience to environmental, financial and social hazards.
The above are just a few examples of individual and collective action for the eradication of extreme poverty. They work as inspiration in how someone can overcome the obstacles that occur, motivated by the will of offering to the community, and how nations are able to unite for the common good. Values like altruism, selflessness and cooperation, may become the driving force so that individuals, small groups or even nations take similar initiatives that would restore hope and build a beautiful world for everyone. The power of our initiatives is not at all insignificant; as the Nobel-prize winning poet says *“So to make the majorities understand […] that most important: Spring itself is a product of man.”*2
1The TED talk by the daughter of BRAC’s founder: https://www.ted.com/talks/shameran_abed_4_steps_to_ending_extreme_poverty/transcript?referrer=playlist-how_innovation_changes_the_world
2Odysseas Elytis, The Odyssey (1971), translated into English by Jeffrey Carson (1997)
Photography by Eleni Santoli
