With deaths due to COVID-19 rising across Bangladesh, we are faced with another grim reality – bodies of those who died of the disease are left unattended or unclaimed. Bereaved families are not being able to bury their loved ones with full rituals due to the fear of exposing themselves to the virus.

‘Live from the Living Room’, a virtual show hosted by Ghulam Sumdany Don, has been spreading awareness about different subjects among the public.

Women Deliver, a US-based development agency announced the name of 300 young change makers from around the world who are dedicated to promoting gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Level 3 - Office Excellence of Young Professional Smartification (YPS), the online soft skills training programme, starts on June 15, 2020.

Alokito Hridoy Foundation (AHF), has been working towards making Bangladesh’s current education system more holistic, through a model where children learn by playing, problem solving and inquiring.

The program is designed for highly qualified and motivated individuals skilled in areas relevant to WBG technical/operations such as economics,

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Jhilimili is a social welfare organisation, formed by some students from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka (DU), that aims to support street children in different ways.

With Covid-19 taking over the globe, many annual competitions developed for students have either been put on hold midway for an indefinite period, or cancelled. In the interim, Interactive Cares arranged a virtual grand finale for ‘Idea Innovation Contest 2020’, an entrepreneurship-based business idea event. This year, they came up with business ideas which will be profitable and sustainable during isolation and stabilise the socio-economic state of the country.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused world leaders, health authorities and law enforcement agencies to take drastic safety measures and led to a slowdown in the world economy. Subsequently, most industries have adapted remote working as the way forward.

Samsung Engineering jointly with United Nations Environment Programme would like to launch “The 13th Eco-generation Environmental Essay Competition” inviting the youth all over the world to raise awareness on the theme of the upcoming World Environment Day – Time for Nature.

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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Window Bangladesh started their journey in 2018. Founded by Shadman Sakib Anik and Ahsan Rony,

Krishan, a digital market platform created by iPAGE & Partners, started with a vision to help farmers sell their produce through e-commerce. Led by Mashrur H Shurid, Mohammad Saifullah Mithu, and Labib Tarafdar, this social welfare initiative was launched on May 1, 2020.

Proborton, a social welfare organisation founded by Sabbir Khan Saim, ensures education and food security among underprivileged communities. Amid the coronavirus crisis, the organisation is distributing food, groceries and other relief materials to several vulnerable families across Dhaka. They have so far conducted two distribution events in the city, feeding over 350 people. In addition, they have also distributed groceries to 100 families.

Niloufer Manzur, the founding principal of Sunbeams School, played an instrumental role in the success of the institute. She always encouraged her students to not only focus on grades, but also on etiquette and extra-curricular activities.

The 1991 batch of Government Science College (GSC) recently provided foot to around 200 lower-middle income families and groups in different parts of Dhaka, including Mirpur, Uttara, Rayer Bazar, Badda, Basabo and Banasree.

Niloufer Manzur started Sunbeams School in 1974 in her own residence at Indira Road, with only a handful of students. In over four decades, the institution has grown into a household name, entirely to the credit of the educator’s vision.

A couple of weeks back, Shabab, one of our classmates from the 2006 batch of Sunbeams School, passed away, leaving us in shock. We got together on a WhatsApp group after fourteen years and eventually, decided to donate some money in our friend's name to the support staff at Sunbeams. From across several continents, we raised a reasonable amount. I volunteered to hand over the donation to the school, after which we sent an email to our ‘Mrs Manzur’, explaining the cause.

Farhana Shahnaz began her journey in the development sector soon after she completed her BSc in Economics. She went on to pursue her masters in development studies from BRAC University, and has also worked in resource mobilisation, developed programmes and effective fundraising applications in response to calls for proposals from small government and institutional donors. She currently serves as a Communications Officer at UNDP Bangladesh, where she addresses the communication needs of a project that is helping to prevent violent extremism. She was a part of UNLEASH, a global innovation lab that equips global top talents with the vision required to disrupt conventional solutions and create a better world by achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with her solution on SDG 4 – Quality Education track. In a candid chat with The Daily Star, Farhana shares her journey so far.