Update May 20, 2020:

Thank you for your overwhelming support! We are now closing the fundraiser after exceeding our estimated budget by almost USD 4,000. A portion of the money has already been disbursed to Give Bangladesh, and you can read about the relief distributed to the cobbler community in Gaibandha in updates below, or on GiveBD's facebook page. 

At this time, we'd like to focus on corresponding with our partners to keep track of distributions and provide timely reports back to you. If you're still seeking to provide funds or other support to COVID response activities in Bangladesh (or elsewhere), we encourage you to reach out to your networks to get connected to the many organizations working on the ground who would greatly appreciate your help.

If you have any questions, or need something from us, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at [email redacted]vard.edu.

Best,
Intekhab, Lamisa, Najneen, Shamayla, Ratib, Sazana, Samira, Rayyan, Meherab, Mehnaz, Abedin and others
(A group of Bangladeshi students and young professionals in the US)




Summary: 

We're a group of US-based Bangladeshi students and young professionals partnering with Give Bangladesh (a Dhaka based non-profit - website , Facebook page ) to provide food-relief to ~6,300 members of six highly marginalized communities across Bangladesh: Santal (সাঁওতাল), nomad (বেদে), and transgender (হিজড়া) communities, and groups of sweepers (সুইপার), weavers (তাঁতি), and cobblers(মুচি).

We have worked extremely hard to ensure a very transparent network, for both distribution of food-relief, as well as handling of finances, and now we need your help! Any amount you can donate will go a long way, but here's some context to quantify the impact of your support:

__ USD can provide food for - 
$5    - An individual for 2 weeks
$20 - A household (of 5) for 2 weeks
$50 - A household (of 5) for 1 month
$150 - A cluster (of 11 households) for 1 week
$500 - A cluster (of 11 households) for 1 month

Background:

As Bangladesh grapples with the Coronavirus pandemic, large swaths of the population, often employed in the informal/semi-formal sector, are left acutely vulnerable to hunger and food insecurity. While the country attempts to contain the spread of the virus, prop up its healthcare system, and provide economic support, limited capacity and efficacy of its social safety apparatus means millions are left on their own to sustain their livelihoods in the short-to-medium term. 

Workers have seen their incomes evaporate entirely, or reduced significantly, as a result of lockdowns, layoffs, and furloughs. Members of marginalized communities, often dependent on some social assistance even during regular times, now face tough competition to access limited aid. Despite gradual reopening of the country, the path to recovery remains uncertain and distant, and immediate access to food is an essential bridge for many. Additionally, the month of Ramadan has historically seen upward pressures on staple food prices.

Building on several remarkable initiatives taken by Bangladeshi communities at home and abroad, we are joining the fight to play our part. We're a group of Bangladeshi young professionals and students in the US, and we're inviting you to join us and contribute to provide food relief to approximately 1100 households (~ 6300 individuals) in marginalized communities in Bangladesh over the next month. 

Project overview:

We started this campaign based on a few principles: that fundraising at scale is an effective and relevant contribution towards this crisis;  that a successful implementation would require an experienced local partner; and the partnership must commit to a high level of transparency from beginning to end.

These have led us to a partnership with Give Bangladesh (a registered Dhaka based non-profit, more on them below) and together we've identified six communities within their network who need support during this crisis. Your donations will go towards providing food relief to communities of Santal people (সাঁওতাল), nomads (বেদে), transgender people (হিজড়া) , sweepers (সুইপার), weavers (তাঁতি), and cobblers (মুচি). You can find more details about our focus communities at the end.

We’re beginning with a goal of 12,000 USD, but hope to raise at least 18,000 USD which will provide 10 days worth of food for ~1100 families. Funds will be disbursed to GiveBD in 3 waves to ensure a rolling implementation. After receiving an installment, GiveBD will transfer the money to local teams, who will then purchase pre-set food packs (details below) and distribute to pre-identified households. We have ensured that GiveBD’s volunteers and local partners are aware of, and capable of enforcing social distancing and other reasonable safety measures during distribution. GiveBD will share all details of their work with us (which we will report back to you), and coordinate with peer organizations to avoid redundancies and gaps in household coverage.

All of this, of course, depends on you. This is a difficult time for everybody, but any contribution you are able to make can be a much needed lifeline for those who have little else to fall back on - we pledge to ensure maximum efficiency of each dollar you donate. This is, by design, a short term relief plan to help people stay afloat until state and institutional responses can be refined and effectively implemented.

About Give Bangladesh, our local implementation partners (check out their Facebook page ):

No food-relief effort can be successful without an efficient and experienced on-ground partner. We are partnering with Give Bangladesh (GiveBD), a Dhaka-based non-profit, to plan, purchase, and distribute food aid to households in need. Specifically, we will be working with Saif Mithu and Upoma Rashid, who are both co-directors of GiveBD,  and have extensive experience leading groups of volunteers for large-scale relief efforts.

Give Bangladesh (GiveBD) has already started working towards combating COVID-19 related food-shortages in Bangladesh, and have an excellent track record. Over the course of the last seven years, GiveBD has created a vast collaboration network with local NGOs spanning  32 districts, and are actively connecting more-and-more Dhaka-based operators to rural, underdeveloped regions across Bangladesh. The wide reach of their network, their current initiatives for assisting marginalized communities, their thorough data-collection process, and their nuanced local knowledge about these communities make GiveBD an ideal partner for implementing this project. 

A note about transparency: GiveBD will share all details of their work with us (which we will report back to you), and coordinate with peer organizations to avoid redundancies and gaps in household coverage.

More about the organizing committee:

The original plan started within a Bangladeshi friend-group in Boston, MA, and the group has continued to grow as the ideas have taken shape. We were inspired by the amazing initiatives taken to help Bangladeshis in need during this time, and hope to complement existing and future efforts through this campaign.

The team members:
- Intekhab Hossain: PhD cand. (Biostatistics), Harvard University (MA)
- Dewan Fairose Lamisa: Masters cand. (Global Health), Northeastern University (MA)
- Abedin Rafique: Senior Business Analyst, Canback Consulting (MA)
- Najneen Sultana: Engineer (MA)
- Samira Bari Rifat : Covid Staffing Lead, American Red Cross (MA)
- Shamayla Islam : Engineer, NXP Semiconductors (Austin, TX)
- Ratib Ali: PhD cand. (Economics), Boston College (MA)
- Rayyan Islam: Management Consultant, ScottMadden Inc. (MA)
- Meherab Hossain: Bachelors cand. (Mathematics), Clark University (MA)
- Sazana A. Khabir: Clinical Project Coordinator, Global Discovery Chemistry (MA)
- Mehnaz Maharin: Masters cand. (Data Analytics), Northeastern University (MA)

APPENDIX:

A clear explanation of how your donation(s) will be spent: 

Based on data collected from other fund-raising initiatives, as well as previous food-relief projects completed by GiveBD, we have decided to provide the following basket of items:

Item                    Quantity              Price (BDT)
Rice                         10 kg                   540
Daal (Lentils)      2 kg                      294
Potatoes               7 kg                     175
Soybean Oil        1 ltr                       110
Salt                          0.5 kg                   20
Soap                        2 pcs                     80
Puffed Rice         2 kg                       140
Polybag                  -                             18
------------------------------------------------------
Total  price per basket       = ৳1377 = $16.32

The basket is meant to last a household of six individuals for 10-11 days, and up to 15-20 days for households with 2-4 members.   

The food baskets will be distributed to the following households:

Community          Place                          People      
1: Santal                  Gaibandha                3,600  

2: Nomads             Munshiganj,                 200 
                                     Malkhanagar

3: Transgender   Dhaka,                             185
                                     Gaibandha, 
                                     Nilphamari 

4: Sweeper            Dhaka (Badda)       1,500 

5: Weaver              Sirajganj Belkuchi    480 

6: Cobbler              Gaibandha                   300


The resulting budget break-down is as follows: 

Community         Budget(USD)
1: Santal                10,588
2: Nomads            588
3: Transgender  544
4: Sweeper          4,412
5: Weaver            1,412
6: Cobbler            882