Where We Work

Bangladesh is the most densely populated countries in world and on the front line of climate change. Ten million people were affected by 2007 flooding and seventeen percent of the country could disappear over the next forty years.

Bangladesh has the highest rural population density in the world - around 1,209 people per square kilometer.  Therefore, pressure on the land is so overwhelming that it leaves little choice for the poorest segment of the population but to move to remote, inaccessible riverside areas to settle. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is working for these people in the flood prone Chalanbeel region of north-western Bangladesh. Here many people have no land with which to support themselves and no access to education, training or modern energy supplies. At least 30% of the people cannot find paid work or are underemployed. More than 40% are considered landless by the Government, and at least 50% live below the poverty line.

In Bangladesh, millions of people living in river basins lack basic facilities such as electricity and telephone service, as central planning of road construction did not consider the predominant river networks. Development initiatives are concentrated around paved roads, riverside areas remain underdeveloped. The government and development organizations are not active in these areas because they are so hard to reach and subjected to regular flooding.  People living in river basins therefore do not have any access to the information about developments in national laws, regulations and policies & information, and also lack opportunities to skill development training which results in poverty, pollution, human rights violations, and poor access to education and learning opportunities, especially for girls and women.