BRAC USA
Improving the health, wealth and well-being of millions of the poorest families, BRAC is a development organization dedicated to alleviating poverty by empowering the poor to bring about change in their own lives.
BRAC began in 1972 as a small relief effort in response to Bangladesh’s war of liberation, which left the country torn by poverty and strife. Over the past 38 years, BRAC has developed, tested and implemented a myriad of development programs that have propelled it to become one of the largest and most comprehensive development organizations in the world.
BRAC currently touches the lives of more than 138 million people through its holistic approach to poverty alleviation. BRAC’s major programs include micro-loans, education, health services, self-employment opportunities and human rights education. Today, BRAC has an 18-country footprint:
- BRAC has programs in 10 countries, most of which are crisis environments created by conflicts or natural disaster: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Liberia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and Haiti.
- BRAC provides technical assistance in four countries: India, Indonesia, Northern Sudan and Yemen.
- BRAC USA has partnered with BRAC University’s BRAC Development institute to provide assistance and research on targeted programs to graduate the ultra poor to become microfinance borrowers in Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Honduras, Pakistan, Peru and Yemen.
- BRAC also has two affiliate offices in the U.S. and the UK.
BRAC has issued $6 billion in micro-loans to nearly eight million borrowers, provided basic health services to more than 92 million people and graduated more than six million students from its pre-primary and primary schools. It successfully operates two commercial banks serving the small and medium enterprise (SME) market in Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"The interests of women and children are at the heart of BRAC‘s work."
BRAC actively promotes human rights, dignity and gender equality through building the social, economic, political and human capacity of people living in poverty. By organizing people for power through village organizations, BRAC provides ladders of opportunity for the poor to access credit and other services and break out of the cycle of poverty and despair.
To scale its impact, BRAC partners with the community, like-minded organizations, government institutions, the private sector and development partners to influence policies, programs and practices.
In the United States, BRAC USA seeks to raise awareness of BRAC’s successful community development model, mobilize resources and cultivate business partnerships to support BRAC’s expansion. BRAC USA is an independent, non-profit organization that received its 501(c)(3) status on July 12, 2007.
With the success of BRAC USA and BRAC UK, BRAC will be the world’s first international development organization initiated and led by people from the developing world with solidarity and support from the developed world. Learn more about BRAC at BRACUSA.org.