South Asia Briefing Unit 3 - Brac

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The Hunger Project Online Briefing Program
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7. Going to Scale: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)

The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee is one of the largest NGOs in the world. It pioneered the concept of going to scale: making an national-level impact that goes far beyond typical small-scale NGO projects.

Story of BRAC

BRAC works to achieve the dual goals of empowerment of the rural poor and alleviation of poverty.

It began its operations in February 1972 after the end of the war of liberation that led to the creation of Bangladesh. It started as a committee of concerned individuals, led by Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed. They pledged to bring aid to thousands of refugees returning to their homes in Sulla, a remote rural district in the Sylhet region.

BRAC soon realized that relief assistance, although critical in an emergency, serves to create a state of dependency.

By 1976, BRAC shifted its approach to work directly with the underprivileged. Its target population consisted of the poorest of the poor: day laborers, small farmers, artisans, petty traders and women who were productive but whose economic contribution was not adequately recognized.
By 1995, it emerged as one of the largest NGOs in the world, with a total membership of 1.5 million, 85% of whom are women.

Going to Scale

BRAC is based in the principle of going to scale.
It believes that the alleviation of hunger and poverty cannot be achieved by charitable gestures. Rather, it requires a holistic approach that reaches throughout all sectors of society.

BRAC's presence in Bangladesh is indeed huge.

Health: BRAC pioneered an Oral Therapy Extension program for the treatment of diarrhea that has covered the entire country. BRAC workers visit mothers in all of the country's nearly 70,000 villages, enabling them to treat diarrhea at home.
Education: BRAC's education program for children has been called more widespread and effective than the government's. It has established over 30,000 schools, which accommodate nearly one million students.
Links with government: Partnership with State institutions is an important priority in BRAC's development strategy. It has forged links between its own village development organizations, and government and external support systems, enabling it to reach hundreds of thousands of people.

Village organization

BRAC works by organizing the people in a village.

It sets up two village organizations (VOIs), one each for men and women. Only the landless are eligible for membership.
Members are encouraged to find solutions to their own problems and to join hands to pursue these solutions. Often small credits are given to facilitate this process.
BRAC's programs cover three core areas: education, health and rural development.
BRAC realized through its work that women in Bangladesh played a far more vital role in production than is ever acknowledged.
Women are responsible for the management of households, although they are denied economic and social opportunities. When women are empowered - and have access to resources - health, education, and nutrition all improve.
BRAC focuses its Rural Development Program on the socio-economic development of rural women through access to credit, capacity development, savings mobilization, institution building and awareness creation.

Creativity

The Hunger Project Online Briefing Program
People-Centered Development
Page 14 of 24

Credit