(In)Famous for the Rana Plaza Factory collapse, its struggling economy and poverty, Bangladesh’s worthwhile successes have escaped most of public knowledge until recently. PBS reports on BRAC, formerly, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee , the world’s largest non-governmental organization serving 160 million people in the country. Started by Fazle Abed, BRAC caters to the this South Asian country’s problems through microfinance schemes ($9 billion), lending money to small and medium businesses (earning itself the title of the fifth largest commercial bank in the country), runs over 38,000 schools and has trained over 100,000 village health workers in public health, as reported by PBS in this article.
In addition to its existing projects, BRAC has devoted itself to monitoring improvements that have been promised since the Rana factory disaster. In this PBS story, BRAC founder Fazle Hasan Abed, describes his organizations efforts to provide rehabilitation, artificial limbs and assistance in collecting compensation for scores of survivors. The story further explores the role of labor unions, and conveys messages from women workers who struggle to earn a living in a traditional society