Introduction

Social Agency for Welfare and Advancement in Bangladesh (SAWAB) has been working as an NGO in Bangladesh since 1995. It is completely a non-profit and non-political voluntary welfare and development organization and it was established by a few enlightened social workers, educationists, and philanthropists. The organization initially started working for human resource development through education, training, health care, and nutrition, environment preservation, income-generating activities, and so on for the poor and underprivileged portion of the population with specific attention to women and children. SAWAB dedicatedly acts to establish a morale-based society. Orphan care, supporting poor, distressed women and children are the main thrust of our special care programs. Besides, SAWAB is committed to helping the destitute people by making them self-employed so that they can contribute to the economic development of the country.

Bangladesh lies in such a geographical location that is vulnerable to natural calamities and man-made disasters. SAWAB helps and upgrades the lifestyle of this root-bottom community through various initiatives for their economic solvency and secured social life and thereby SAWAB contributes to the overall development of the country. SAWAB aims to bring forward the marginal group into the mainstream by providing them with income-generating opportunities through training, education, and knowledge sharing.

Our Vision

The vision of SAWAB is to establish a just society, which is free from hunger, ignorance, social injustice, violence, oppression, and other forms of exploitation, and where peace, progress, tranquillity and development prevail.

Our Mission

The institutional mission of SAWAB is to develop and empower all persons and communities in situations of poverty, social injustice, ignorance, violence, terrorism, exploitation, and all forms of sufferings through broadly promoting education, mutual understanding and collaboration, poverty alleviation, health, skills development, and building awareness.

Our Core Values:

• Empathy and Care
• Integrity and Honesty
• Transparency and Accountability
• Partnership and Collaboration
• Change and Adaptability
• Inclusiveness and Ownership

Goals and Objectives:

The goal of SAWAB is poverty reduction and the creation of employment opportunities for poor and marginalized families, thereby creating a society based on justice, equity, and self-respect. SAWAB ensures the involvement of poor and disadvantaged groups of people in various development activities and creates awareness about various problems and issues that concern the individuals, the community, and the country at large. SAWAB moves forward to fulfil the following objectives:

• To develop human resources in the community and assist them to utilize their hidden potential to meet human needs
• To promote youth employment and income-generating opportunities for improving the socio-economic condition of the poor and the disadvantaged population by providing different types of technical and vocational skill development training
• To develop unity among the poor people through group activities and organize them to work unitedly against the factors that perpetuate poverty
• To promote women empowerment and their rights to increase the level of their participation in all areas of life
• To promote health and family planning services, mother and child care services, and the development of community health and nutrition
• To promote non-formal education and literacy for illiterate children, adolescents, and adults to eradicate illiteracy from the country
• To promote water and sanitation systems both in rural and urban settings
• To promote inter-cultural and inter-religious understanding among the community people so that social harmony exists
• To promote and equip the marginalized and underprivileged rural communities with advantages of the modern technological advancement for self-development
• To promote and preserve the natural environment and safeguard it from pollution and destruction
• To organize relief and rehabilitation activities in times of natural calamities and disasters
• To undertake different programs and activities to bring differently able people to join the mainstream of social development

 

Salient Features of SAWAB

• Loyal and committed team members
• Ensures high standard of program implementation with low cost budget.
• Works with utmost transparency.
• Proper and perfect documentation.

Target Group:

SAWAB targets the most vulnerable group of the society, be they belong to ultra-poor community or to the most disadvantageous population of the country.  SAWAB works for the poor and under privileged portion of the population with specific attention to women and children for their welfare and socio-economic advancement. Further, SAWAB extends its wings to assist the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya Refugees) to meet their emergency needs.  In gist the target groups are:

• Underprivileged people
• Orphans and street children
• Distress women, widows and elderly people
• Poor but lactating and pregnant women
• Landless and marginal farmers
• Adolescent boys and girls of urban and rural areas
• People with special needs (disabled and autistics)
• Disaster affected vulnerable people
• Unemployed Youths
• Refugees

 

Achievements and Milestones

SAWAB’s achievements and milestones are demonstrated in phases. It has already gone through three phases and has experience of 26 years in the field of humanitarian activities. Phase four has been initiated in 2021 and the key activities are mentioned as follows:

2021- till date (4^th phase)

1. Chairman, SAWAB visited some donor organizations of Turkey and the UK
2. Established a new Sewing Leaming Centre for the poor women at Savar
3. SA WAB has entered the new dimension of building housing for the Rohingya Refugees.
4. Started operating 3 new schools in Kutupalong and in Balukhali, Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar
5. Initiated a new Sewing Leaming Centre for the Rohingya Refugees
6. Commenced a new orphan learning centre in Camp-2 East
7. Singed MoU with three new donor organizations.
8. Human Care Initiative-UK visited the SAWAB office
9. Shahjadi Zaman, SE Asia Program Officer, UMR (United Mission for Relief & Development), visited SAWAB office.

2016-2020 (3^rd phase)

1. Attended MUNA convention-(2018-2019) USA
2. Attended Kuala Lumpur Summit, Malaysia
3. Attended NGO fair in Turkey
4. Senator Sam Dastyari, New South Wells, Australia visited Rohingya Camp through SAWAB
5. Worked on the Rohingya Refugees issue
6. Started Micro-Finance Program in Savar zone
7. 2000 MT of rice distributed among the Rohingya Refugees at Cox’s Bazar
8. Visited different International organizations in Dubai and London for partnership-level activities
9. Exchanged and shared ideas in a meeting with the Malaysian Minister
10. Visited Weltweiter Einsatz fiir Arme e.V.,WEFA and HASENE International, Germany,
11. Engaged and participated in more than 16 International Conventions for the representation of SAWAB activities
12. Served more than half a million Rohingya Refugees by providing them with shelter equipment, food clothes medicine Hygiene kits winter cloths and Qurban meat
13. Distributed In-Kind Gifts of 30 containers from the USA approximately amounting to BDT 9 crore ( USD 1,125,000) in Cox’s Bazar.
14. Participated in meeting with US congressman to expand humanitarian work
15. Provided services to more than 3 Million families all over Bangladesh through Education Program, Brother Family Project Zakat Promotion and Orphan Care Shelter and Rehabilitation Program, Climate Change Adaptation Program, Women Empowerment and Development, Poverty Alleviation Program, WATSAN, Health and Nutrition Program, Occasional Program, Emergency Relief Program and Volunteer Development Program

2010-2015 (2^nd phase)

1. Established work relations with 55 districts of Bangladesh within this period
2. Organized strong Advisory Committee and Executive Committee
3. Recruited more young, energetic and committed manpower
4. Established SAWAB as a need-based organization
5. Contributed to the Nepal earthquake as a part of International Activities
6. Participated in International Youth Gathering Program, Malaysia
7. Supported 300 marginalized families with assistance from a Turkish organization
8. Increased services among distressed, marginalized and underprivileged people around the country
9. Created opportunities for international funds
10. Built up a nationwide good partnership
11. Created well-wishers both at home and abroad
12. Provided services to approximately 1.2 million families through Formal and Non-Formal Education; Brother Family Project, Poverty Alleviation Program; Women Empowerment, Zakat Promotion and Orphan Care, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project, Health and Nutrition, Winter Cloth Distribution, Emergency Relief Program, Ramadan Program, Qurban Program.

1995-2009 (1^st phase)

1. Started its journey in 1995 with a dream to bring difference in Bangladesh.
2. Organized faith-based environment programs at national and international levels
3. Started building up National and International Networking
4. Became a member of The Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW)
5. Started partnerships with different international donor organizations
6. Built up Strong Volunteer Team
7. Engaged with 300 Partner Organizations
8. Arranged Seasonal Programs all over Bangladesh
9. Established Kanchanpur Charitable Dispensary (KCD) for offering free medicine and medical support
10. Contributed to super cyclone ‘Aila’ affected people in the southern part of the country
11. Provided free Ambulance Services all over the country
12. Provided services to approximately 1 million families through Formal and Non-Formal

Education; Brother Family Project, Poverty Alleviation Program; Women Empowerment, Zakat Promotion, Orphan Care, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Health and Nutrition; Disaster Management, Seasonal & Occasional Program