Empowering Youth through Volunteerism, Bangladesh

Project name: Empowering Youth through Volunteerism

Project location: Bangladesh

Website: http://vbd.com.bd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VolunteerforBangladesh

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VforBD

Project description:

Youth is the future of Bangladesh with approximately 48 million of the overall population . However, opportunities for this segment have been scant as the unemployment rate has in Bangladesh between the age group 15-24 years old was 10.4% in 2016 . Failing to utilize their potential is having a big impact on the socio-economic future of Bangladesh and its push towards a middle-income country status. Without proper guidance and lack of safe space for discussion, Bangladeshi youth are increasingly feeling alienated which is making them vulnerable towards radicalization and unlawful activities.

As a youth organization itself, JAAGO Foundation has been working towards to address these issues since 2011. Given the current state of youth, it is of utmost importance to give them a sense of purpose and JAAGO’s volunteer wing, Volunteer for Bangladesh (VBD) is in a best place to do so with its 25,000 registered young volunteers in 32 districts across Bangladesh.

This network of volunteers works to equip Bangladeshi youth with a voice while previously they were often ignored in the socio-political discussion. Through VBD, the volunteers are included in the project designing phase which provides them an opportunity to express their ideas and views. This bottom up approach has been successful in engaging youth with the developmental issues and contribute in the overall development of the country. So far, the volunteers have been arranging diverse programs on education, environment, health, law and rights, human rights, civic participation and democratic engagement for societal as well as community development.

Goal and purpose of the project:

• To empower the youth of Bangladesh by encouraging volunteerism.
• To provide a sense of purpose to the frustrated youth of Bangladesh through capacity building activities.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

JAAGO Foundation’s Founder, Mr. Korvi Rakshand started the organization when he was only 22. As a youth himself, Mr. Rakshand was aware of the challenges faced by youth which promoted him to start JAAGO’s youth wing, ‘Volunteer for Bangladesh’ in 2011. He understands the need to provide youth a platform where they can voice their opinions and channel their frustrations in a positive way is more than ever. Therefore, the proposed project intends to teach the young volunteers how they can design and implement projects to address their community based developmental needs.

Goal and purpose of the project:

• To empower the youth of Bangladesh by encouraging volunteerism.
• To provide a sense of purpose to the frustrated youth of Bangladesh through capacity building activities.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

Mr. Korvi Rakshand started JAAGO Foundation when he was only 22. As a youth himself, Mr. Rakshand was aware of the challenges faced by youth which promoted him to start JAAGO’s youth wing,‘Volunteer for Bangladesh’ in 2011.He understands the need to provide youth a platform where they can channel their frustrations in a positive way is more than ever. Thus, the proposed project aims to teach the young volunteers how they can design and implement projects to address their community’s needs.

Use of prize money:

Project duration: 1 year. Project Location: 8 divisions of Bangladesh.Number of beneficiaries: 240, 30 volunteers per training
Phase 1: Training on a)Raising funds from community based activities b) Identifying community needs and aligning them with SDGs c)Writing project proposals and preparing budgets for a small scale project or campaign d)Developing critical thinking skill to design impactful projects
Phase 2: Follow up projects by volunteers in their communities to implement their learning