Social Welfare Projects by BUET 2005 Alumni Foundation (Hriddho) during COVID-19 Pandemic:

Amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, people in Bangladesh are suffering not only health wise but also financially. For those who are reliant on their daily incomes, they find it very difficult to make ends meet. As the infection rate is increasing day by day, lockdown situations due to COVID-19 may continue for an indefinite time in Bangladesh. In this unprecedented time, Hridhho, a prospective non-profit organization by the BUET alumni of 2005 batch, is trying to help the people in need of our society.

We already initiated 2 different projects under which funds have been raised from Hriddho. First one is Food Aid to poor people, and second one is Financial Aid to current varsity students. We have raised from home and abroad a total amount of BDT 388,006 (equivalent of USD 4566.60) in the first phase between March 31 to April 20, 2020. We want to extend these projects further in different phases in near future. So, we are planning to raise another donation amount of USD 5000 for proper execution of these charity projects.

The details of the first phase of these 2 projects are described below:

1. Food distribution to poor people: In the first phase, we supplied 1 week worth of food to 300 families (~4 people/family) in different parts of Dhaka City. Volunteers of the foundation delivered the food items to 100 families in Kalabagan/Dhanmondi, 50 families in Hazaribagh, 50 families in Demra, 50 families in South Banasree and 50 families in Keraniganj while maintaining safe social distancing.

The list of food supplied to the families is as below: Rice (Miniket) 5 Kg, Lentils (Moshur Dal) 2 Kg, Soyabean Oil 1 Litre, Potato 3 Kg, Salt 1 Kg, Puffed Rice (Muri) 1Kg, Poha (Chira) 0.5 Kg, Flour 1 Kg, Sugar 0.5 Kg, Wheel Soap 1 pc, Savlon Soap 1 pc, Onion 0.5 Kg, Turmeric Powder 100g, Chili Powder 1oog, Chickpeas (Chola) 1 Kg.

In the second phase, we would like to extend our support to another 300 families in the later part of Ramadan.

2. Financial assistance to current students Under normal circumstances, some university students are engaged in part time jobs/tuitions by which they support their families who are in desperate need. But in the days of COVID-19, these part-time earning opportunities no longer exist. There are cases where a student was supporting his father’s kidney dialysis by his tuition money. In view of this, we came across a list of 25 students of BUET who need financial assistance in this tough time. A total of BDT 160,000 (equivalent of USD 1883.02) is required for them every month. Taking into an assumption of 3 months lockdown, it comes down to BDT 380,000 (USD 5649.06) for this duration. In the first phase of our project, we gave BDT 50,000 (USD 588.44) to these students but still there is a significant deficit to our projected amount. We plan to raise funds for this project in the 2nd phase to support these students throughout the lockdown period. As the fight against this pandemic is continuing, we are partnering with Ankur International for donation matching under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code since March 28, 2007. When writing checks or giving donation to Ankur International please mention "Coronavirus Funds for Bangladesh with HRIDDHO".

For details please contact:

Hasan Shariare: Portland, OR. Email: [email protected]

Md. Shahriar Shamim: Portland, Oregon, USA. Email: [email protected]

In Bangladesh:

Priyom Mozumdar: Mailing Address: 3/F, Kalabagan, Dhanmondi, Dhaka -1205, Bangladesh Mobile number: +880-1818-074889 Email Address: [email protected]