Bangladesh

With a population of 163 million, 75% of which live in the countryside and off the land, Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Due to the fact that Bangladesh is situated on a low-lying estuary where several large rivers meet the sea, it is often faced with floods. Many families thus lose their homes and need to rebuild their lives again and again.

About half of the inhabitants still live below the poverty line of USD 1 per day. Providing loans and training to vulnerable groups of people has therefore played an important role in the development of the women in Bangladesh.

CRSS is a community based development organization. It was founded in 2001 by Edward Robin Bollove, formerly known as the Bangladesh Development Society (BDS). The primary goal of this organization is to work with poor people in the southern part of Bangladesh and to support them in several areas: social economic development, human rights and humanitarian help in case of emergency. The headoffice of CRSS is situated in Barisal city and there are 4 offices at Upazila (Sub-district), Barisal Sadar, Agoiljhara, Wazirpur and Necharabad (Swarupkathi). The main activities of CRSS concerns microcredit programs, besides that they develop programs related to health and women empowerment.

In the district of Gopalganj, southwest of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, our partner RDS (Rural Development Society) started together with Microcredit for Mothers a microcredit project aimed at ultra-poor women working in the fish hook making business or small trade business or who are without an income. This is a vulnerable group disadvantaged the most by social-religious restrictions and lack of productive resources. RDS supports these women by providing training, loans and mentorship.