Unlocking Possibilities: A Step Toward Building Resourceful Citizens

It is noteworthy how, in the past few years, Bangladesh has seen rapid progress in many sectors, which was unthinkable even a decade ago. Bangladesh is showing consistent growth every year. We are being viewed as “The Next Asian Tiger” worldwide. Among all the positive news, the absence of human rights in many cases is hindering our development as a nation. Women and children as well as poverty-stricken people are always the most deprived ones when it comes to human rights.

The Ten Principles set by the UN Global Compact have always been treated with importance by Green Delta Insurance (GDIC). In previous years, GDIC has emphasized environmental issues, labor rights, and safety issues through their communication tools. Many issues regarding human rights also came into the picture. In 2012, GDIC took the initiative to create awareness for human rights. The first initiatives taken by the GDIC
team – with the help of its creative agency – were to use “shadow puppetry” in our desk calendar to portray elements of human rights in a symbolic manner. After that, GDIC took the initiative to make direct and positive impacts on the lives of underprivileged people.

As the Bangladesh experience shows, economic growth alone is not always enough to achieve higher levels of human development. Countries that invest in education, health, and social protection, as well as those that promote gender equality, are moving toward success more quickly. Keeping these things in
mind, a significant CSR project in recent years named “SHE” was introduced by our Managing Director and CEO, Ms. Farzana Chowdhury. “Supporting Her Empowerment” (SHE) is a Women Empowerment
and Development Program by Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd. to facilitate gender equality and women
empowerment in the workplace. In a male dominant society such as ours, this program proved to be effective and offered open floor discussions, counseling, mentoring, career development, and special training programs for women. Women have the ability to contribute toward our country’s development, but sadly they are always overshadowed. GDIC also works for children’s rights. As in previous years, this year we made donations to and sponsored many cultural and fundraising programs of NGOs and schools. Green Delta Insurance also joined hands with Bangladesh’s “Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry” in 2013 to support their dignified causes. It started with the BWCCI-GDIC Progressive award in 2012, which recognized promising female entrepreneurs of Bangladesh. GDIC is trying to assist women entrepreneurs financially and has requested that they step into formal sectors more often.

The most significant project that Green Delta Insurance has been working on is based on children’s rights. We have partnered with a renowned NGO for this cause. They have a number of schools all over Bangladesh that provide state-of-theart education for poor and underprivileged children. They are always looking for sponsors to take responsibility for the students. There are millions of children in Bangladesh who live under the poverty line. They can be seen on streets all over the capital city: tired, hungry, and, more often than not, exploited. They get involved in dangerous professions just to put food in their stomachs. Instead of going to school and playing with their friends, these children roam the streets aimlessly and lose their childhoods as their lives slowly become a nightmare.

Keeping all these things in mind, Green Delta Insurance signed a memorandum of understanding with them to take responsibility for 40 students, which is a whole class. The sponsorship started with the junior-most class and it will continue till those 40 students graduate. This sponsorship will go beyond the financial aid needed. GDIC will also provide medical support, skill training, recreation, and a guaranteed job facility
if needed. GDIC will do everything required so that they grow up to be confident, independent, and resourceful citizens of our nation. These children will be celebrating all the cultural programs and festivals of our country and receive gifts on special occasions. They will be taken to amusement parks and movies
to ensure their entertainment needs are met. From time to time, GDIC will bring them to the head office to give them exposure to the corporate world. Awareness will be created about working for our country’s development and they will also be taught how to be ethical, no matter how critical the circumstances are. We believe that all these things will help them with ambition so that they continue their studies as qualified and
well-educated students. Our aim is to groom these 40 children so that they can live their dreams and at the same time contribute to our country’s development and betterment. These 40 students will be known as Green Delta Kids.

Illiteracy leads to poverty and, poverty leads to crime. This creates obstacles for a country’s development. Education is also very important because it is typically the key to a better future. It is our duty to build an educated nation and do something for unprivileged children so that they can raise their standards of living and blend in with society.

We believe this small initiative will help these kids to take part in this social world and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the population. These children should never feel discriminated against, and the talent hidden inside them should be brought out so that they can lead healthy lives. There is no surer way out of poverty than a solid education, but that education has to be affordable and needs to be equally distributed.

Many people are being deprived of their rights – they do not complain because they are not even aware of their rights. We promise to continue to promote human rights and take the necessary initiatives. We will work for the survival of underprivileged people against all the odds.