NGO PLACEMENT

NGO Placement

NGO Placement

Introduction

BRAC is a widely known Non-Governmental Organization that primarily works for the betterment of human kind in diverse areas of life. BRAC; short for Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, was formerly known as Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee. Being an international developmental organization, it has its network of branches spread across Asia, Africa and America, with the affiliate offices being situated in United Kingdom and United States. Founded in Bangladesh, it has earned the accolade of being recognized as the world's largest international non-government developmental organization, as measured in alignment with the number of employees the organization has onboard as well as the number of people it has assisted as of November 2012. Being selected to work for BRAC UK as a volunteer, it was a learning opportunity of lifetime that was precisely presented to me seizing which I did not hesitate for a moment. My enthusiasm and dedication primarily emanated from the level of reputation of the organization in the international arena that only few other NGOs have succeeded to achieve. Following the selection and conformance with the subsequent mandatory requirements, I worked for a period of 30 days as BRAC volunteer in alignment with the contract undertaken with the organization, which proved to be a source of significant development not only professionally but personally as well. This assignment will essentially reflect on the non-government developmental organization BRAC UK for which I volunteered, so as to clarify and evaluate the understanding of the concepts that have been attained during the course of the module, which eventually will weigh significantly on the professional portfolio of the volunteer as well.

Discussion

Organizational Overview

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in the year 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It was initiated as a limited scope rehabilitation and relief project in district Sylhet aimed to support the refugees returning from Bangladesh Liberation war that took place in 1971. 14,000 homes were rebuilt and erected in alignment with the relief efforts pulled together by BRAC in a mere time period of 9 months. This was followed by the provision of several hundred boats at the disposal of fishermen so that self-sustenance could once again be set in motion. Medical centers were established in addition to other utility stores, in addition to which the provision of essential services was also guaranteed. The organization set towards further development at the end of 1972 with the completion of first phase of the relief work, following which it determined its long term development needs. With this determination, it moved towards the empowerment of poor people particularly the women and children (Zalkin, 2011). 1974 came with BRAC offering micro credit for the development and advancement of poor people. Till mid 70's, BRAC was particularly focused on community development through programs associated with the promotion and advancement of fisheries, rural craft, health as well as family planning, agriculture, cooperatives, adult literacy, community centers construction and vocational training for women. However, in 1975 breakthrough in the operations of the organization came with ...