Friendship is a needs-driven non-governmental organisation that works in the Char islands and riverbanks of northern Bangladesh, the coastal belt in the south, and as of 2017, the Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar in the southeast. Established by Runa Khan in 2002, Friendship works to empower people through a sustainable, integrated development approach.
Friendship employees more than 1,500 employees that includes field staff, regional office staff, staff in the floating hospitals, teachers at Friendship schools, trainers at vocational schools, organizers and supervisors working in the northern and southern parts of the country and head office staff based in Dhaka.
History
Friendship's first project was a floating hospital. French sailor and aviator Yves Marre sailed a river barge from France to Bangladesh to donate it for use by the people of Bangladesh. Runa Khan eventually converted the river barge to a floating hospital, the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital (LFH).
Since then, Friendship has developed a healthcare system to provide primary healthcare and certain surgical procedures to river-based communities who are often difficult to reach from the mainland. The NGO now has introduced two more floating hospitals: the Emirates Friendship Hospital in 2008 sponsored by the Emirates Airline Foundation and the Rongdhonu Friendship Hospital, former Rainbow Warrior II from Greenpeace, in 2012. It has received a donation through the Islamic Development Bank for the operation and construction of five more hospital ships. The keel has been laid for the five new ships in December 2017.
Starting from 2005, a system of mobile Satellite Clinics was set up, complemented by health workers to serve communities at the grassroots level. Presently, each month, approximately 250,000 persons are treated by Friendship's health program.
Friendship also has projects in education, disaster management, good governance, sustainable economic development and cultural preservation. Today Friendship helps about 500,000 people every month.
Runa Khan
Runa Khan is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur and the founder and executive director of Friendship NGO. Friendship is based on Runa Khan's model of "integrated development," meaning it addresses problems in multiple sectors, including health, education, disaster management and economic development in communities where it is involved, rather than specializing in one of these. Khan won the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2006 for work through Friendship to preserve the declining craft of traditional boat building in Bangladesh.
Khan also established a tourism company, Contic, in 1996 which gives tours on traditional wooden boats. Earlier, she wrote text-books for children with the aim of moving away from rote learning, an effort that won her the Ashoka Fellowship in 1994.
Friendship's work areas
Friendship supports communities mainly in the shifting northern river islands, known as chars, of the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers and in the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal. Friendship is active in 22 Upazilas over 12 Districts of Bangladesh. Today, its operations are most intense and multi-Sectoral in the districts of Kurigram and Gaibandha in the North, and Patuakhali and Satkhira in the South.
Friendship International
Three years after Friendship went into operation in Bangladesh, Runa Khan took steps to set up a network of supporting organisations in Europe. Today Friendship is present in 5 countries in Europe including Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, UK and Germany.
Training Centre
Friendship built the Friendship Centre in the rural flatlands of Bangladesh near Gaibandha. Construction completed in 2011. The building complex serves as a training facility and meeting space for staff as well as the local community who live on nearby riverine islands called chars. The building complex houses offices, meeting rooms, a library, and prayer and tea rooms. The residential area contains dorms for students, staff rooms, and a dining area.
In the training area, visitors sit on the floor for classes and community members in the mostly-illiterate population may watch educational theatre presentations on important issues such as child marriage. Friendship can train up to 80 people at a time in the four classrooms. To generate extra income for the organization, others can rent space at the Friendship Centre for meetings, training, and conferences.
The Friendship Centre acts as a gathering place and refuge for the economically-challenged local population. The building project helped bring international attention to architects and architecture in Bangladesh.