A journal review session took place on March 23, 2017, at the Meeting Room of BRACU Savar Campus. Ms. Rifat Jahan, faculty member of Bangladesh Studies, discussed the article titled “Role of NGOs in rural poverty eradication: a Bangladesh observation” by Syeda Feroza Begum, Sawlat Hilmi and Mohammad Shahin Khan.
Ms. Jahan began with the writers’ evaluation of NGOs in poverty alleviation, especially in the rural area of Bangladesh. Therefore, the background of rural poverty, NGOs and the poverty situation in Bangladesh are discussed in details. The writers successfully point out how the NGOs are significantly contributing to eradication of rural poverty by their multidimensional projects and programs.
Furthermore, Ms. Jahan adds that a very important and effective innovation by NGOs is the strategy of teaching the poor people of rural areas about the benefits of forming groups and working cooperatively to ultimately make them more empowered. Although there are some limitations observed in the NGO’s effort to eradicate poverty, the writers are hopeful that if they overcome these limitations then they can continue working for the benefit of the people.
At the end of the discussion, the faculty members agreed on the importance of this article for their course on Bangladesh Studies and discussed how they could incorporate relevant parts of the article in the course.