Message from the Chairman

A journey towards further development for making a caring society

My sincere gratitude to the Al-mighty Allah for His endless Mercy for providing us with the opportunity to serve the humanity in Bangladesh through SAWAB. We tried to deploy our efforts and endeavours to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Bangladesh with a view to make a poverty-free society.

Since its inception in 1995, SAWAB is committed to achieving long-term, sustainable changes in the lives of the most marginalized and deprived communities in Bangladesh. SAWAB is genuinely humanitarian and philanthropic organization and tries to actively participate in the national development programs within its capacity. In 2019, we implemented welfare and development programs covering 483,863 beneficiaries including Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. 2019 became a year of growth and prosperity for SAWAB.

We worked with more partners, increased manpower and fund flow, increased number of projects and showed more professionalism and earned reputation both at the global and national levels. It was also the year of the implementation of the large-scale projects like:  “Distribution of in-kind gifts for forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals”.

Another noteworthy project of 2019 that SAWAB introduced is “Targeting Ultra-Poverty” (TUP) – poverty alleviation program for two years which allows the recipients a 24-month period to develop sustainable livelihoods by delivering technical training, business skill training, life skill training and orientation with further motivation. Following the national development goals, SAWAB addresses to health, poverty alleviation, women empowerment, child and orphan care, water and sanitation, education and disaster management issues on regular basis. We launched ‘Zakat’ campaign through which a significant contribution is made to promote well-being in the society.

However, being the chairman of SAWAB I strongly believe that local support and cooperation should be extended by the well-off members of the society and social leaders to make poverty alleviation process successful. Good governance and local support is always necessary for successful implementation of all programs and projects. SAWAB intends to expand health service and technical education in a larger scale as well as the microfinance project for the destitute with an integrated approach.

We are thankful to NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh, and our development and funding partners for their continuous support in 2019. I also appreciate the hard work of our team, sponsors, volunteers and well-wishers who remain by SAWAB and help us make the difference.

S M Rasheduzzaman

Chairman
SAWAB (Social Agency for Welfare and Advancement in Bangladesh)