BRAC, for the first time ever, received a contribution of 1.5 million euros from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery to combat extreme poverty in Liberia. BRAC will employ their proven approach to permanently lift women and families (those who live on less than 1.69 euros a day) out of extreme poverty.
BRAC has helped 1.7 million families in Bangladesh out of extreme poverty through its graduation approach. It provides a step-by-step guide to women, who in two years time, “graduate” permanently from extreme poverty along with their families. “With this fantastic contribution from the Postcode Lottery, we can do in Liberia what we already achieved on a large scale in Bangladesh,” said Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC.
According to Sir Fazle, the Postcode Lottery and BRAC are natural allies. The Postcode Lottery involves millions of people in strengthening charities, while BRAC helps millions of people to fight poverty through piloting, perfecting and scaling projects. BRAC is currently operating in 11 countries in Asia and Africa with a holistic and integrated approach to fighting poverty consisting of education, agriculture, microcredits, health and strengthening of girls’ and women’s rights.
BRAC’s graduation approach is highly recognised by prominent international researchers from Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the London School of Economics, amongst others. Studies have repeatedly proven the effectiveness of the model, and the results are permanent. The graduation approach has been adopted by governments and NGOs in 37 countries. BRAC is targeting to lift a further one million people out of extreme poverty through this approach.
