SAJIDA Foundation and Orange Corners (OC) signed an agreement in January to open a new OC Hub in Dhaka, alongside local partners YY Ventures and the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC). Through the Orange Corners Access to Finance Fund, implemented by SAJIDA Foundation, the program will also support seed‐funding, said a press release. The aim of the Orange Corners programme is to enable Bangladeshi youth with skills, funding, and resources to build sustainable businesses; all while enriching and creating an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. By providing training, access to networks with expertise, and mentorship to young entrepreneurs, the program aims to improve job prospects for youth between the ages of 18 and 35. With the opening of Orange Corners Bangladesh, Orange Corners will have 18 hubs in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Before the end of the year, OC aims to expand to around 20 local hubs. SAJIDA Foundation is a value-driven, non-profit organisation which embodies the principle of corporate philanthropy, with 51% shareholding of Renata Ltd, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical and animal health product companies in Bangladesh. The organisation, founded in 1993, aims to empower communities, catalyse entrepreneurship, foster equity, and establish enterprises for good with an overarching vision of ensuring health, happiness, and dignity for all. SAJIDA’s operation in Bangladesh has touched over 6 million individuals through multi-sectoral development programs on poverty alleviation, community healthcare and climate change, one of the largest financial service operations and specialised healthcare enterprises.    

The annual general meeting (AGM) of non-profit organisation SAJIDA Foundation took place in Dhaka recently. The new board was signed in on the same day, Thursday. It appointed Farooq Sobhan as chairperson of the governing body and Md Abdul Karim as vice-chairperson. Sobhan is a former Bangladeshi diplomat with a distinguished career in civil service. He replaced Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury. The other members of the SAJIDA Foundation's new governing body include prominent personalities from a wide cross-section of professions and disciplines. Read: Cosmos Foundation showcases brilliant artworks of Alexandru Poteca and Maksuda Iqbal Nipa They are Nihad Kabir, Sara Zaker, Dr Rumana Dowla, Jahan-Zeb Chowdhury, Dr Erum Mariam, Mohammed Bin Quasem and Mushtaq Kamal Mohiuddin. SAJIDA Foundation, founded in 1993, aims to "empower communities, catalyse entrepreneurship, foster equity, and establish enterprises for good with an overarching vision of ensuring health, happiness, and dignity for all."

SAJIDA Foundation has entered a partnership with Thrive, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to delivering healthy food to hungry children, to provide food to 330 students in three schools.  Non-government organisation SAJIDA is sponsoring nutritious meals, delivered by Thrive, for all the schoolchildren of Apon Alo School (Rayer Bazar, Dhaka), Jaago School (Habiganj, Sylhet), and Ucchash School (SonPocha Char River Island, Bogura) from May 9 to August 31. "Thrive's work really brings us back to our roots as a school started in a garage. Healthy meals give children the fuel they need to learn and succeed in their education," said Muhymin Chowdhury, director (challenge fund, partnerships and communications) at SAJIDA. READ: Ecnec rejects Tk 17,290-cr primary school meal project Thrive has been delivering meals to schools since its inception ten years ago and has served these three schools for more than four years.  Having SAJIDA sponsor all of these schoolchildren in some of the poorest areas of Bangladesh allows Thrive to move additional children off its waitlist.  "SAJIDA's generous donation and willingness to ensure a healthy meal for these children every school day for four months gives us the ability to expand our reach and feed even more hungry kids," Priscila Heffelfinger, co-founder of Thrive, said. READ: 3 mn school children to receive food rations While this programme marks Thrive and SAJIDA's largest effort to date, the organisations worked together in the past.  Last March, SAJIDA, Thrive, and the Amal Foundation teamed up to bring emergency food relief to Rohingya families displaced by a devastating fire in the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar.  READ: All govt pry schools to go under midday-meal programme by 2023 SAJIDA supported the cost of 5,000 hot meals.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL) has donated BiPAP Breathing Machines and COVID-19 testing kits to SAJIDA Foundation. This donation is part of Unilever Bangladesh’s pledge of Tk 200 million to help the nation in its fight against COVID-19, according to a press release. The commitment includes measures such as product donations, creating social awareness, improving health infrastructure, protecting its people, and livelihoods. During this unparalleled times of need, UBL has partnered with SAJIDA Foundation, one of the leading organisations supporting the government during the COVID-19 crisis, and donated ‘Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure’ or BiPAP Breathing Machines, often used in the treatment of chronic obstructive lung and respiratory diseases that make breathing difficult. The Foundation is also one of the first responders to the COVID-19 crisis in the country and converted their Narayanganj hospital to a COVID-19 hospital to support the government. Under this partnership, along with medical equipment, Unilever Bangladesh will provide a cash donation of Tk 2 million, health and hygiene products for the foundation’s COVID-19 hospital and care kits for more than 2,000 frontline health workers. During this event, Head of Corporate Affairs, Partnerships & Communications of Unilever Bangladesh Shamima Akhter handed over the BiPAP Breathing Machines and COVID-19 testing kits to Senior Director, Development Programs of SAJIDA Foundation Md Fazlul Hoque. Earlier this month, UBL also handed over COVID-19 testing kits to icddr,b, who has been contributing to the plans and actions of the government in its COVID-19 response through providing free of charge testing support, disease surveillance, strengthening of laboratory capacity, and technical assistance among others. Unilever Bangladesh has decided to import critical medical equipment like testing kits and BiPAP Breathing Machines as Bangladesh is witnessing a national health crisis greatly triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of now Unilever Bangladesh has invested Tk 18 million for medical equipment and donated Tk 11 million to two hospitals to improve the health infrastructure. CEO and Managing Director of UBL Kedar Lele said, “We are committed to protect life and livelihoods of people and support the nation in every way possible. Given our global scale and reach, we could quickly bring in much needed medical equipment like testing kits and breathing equipment into Bangladesh and provide it to organizations like SAJIDA Foundation and icddr,b. "We believe this small, yet timely support will help to continue such reputed organisations in their effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope to do more in every possible way and remain the trusted partner for Bangladesh.”  

Standard Chartered Bangladesh is working with SAJIDA Foundation to stand beside COVID-19 patients in Narayanganj. The SAJIDA Hospital Narayanganj, operated by SAJIDA Foundation, has been converted into a COVID-19 isolation centre, with a requisite supply of ICU facilities, ventilators, dialysis machines and PPE gear, according to a press release. The bank’s funds will go towards daily treatment cost of all COVID-19 patients kept in isolation at the hospital. Narayanganj is considered a coronavirus epicentre and has recorded the highest COVID-19 positive patients after Dhaka. The city is one of the major industrial centres of the country and greatly contributes to the economy, employment, and export earnings. The region accounts for 55 percent of the country’s total knitwear manufacturing. SAJIDA Foundation is one of the first responders to the COVID-19 crisis. The Foundation has served more than three million individuals through awareness raising, food and hygiene package distribution, agriculture value chain support, slum disinfection, portable handwashing device setup and PPE disbursement. SAJIDA’s two hospitals located in COVID-19 hotspots have treated over 15,000 patients since March. SAJIDA has also introduced an online COVID-19 symptom checker chatbot and dedicated hotline numbers to provide general and mental health consultation. Standard Chartered Bangladesh CEO Naser Ezaz Bijoy said: “We are delighted to partner with SAJIDA Foundation in supporting communities from a high-risk area. We are focused on providing wide-ranging and effective COVID-19 support programmes to vulnerable communities, as we strive to continue to live our ‘Here for good’ values.

In a bid to help the country overcome the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Nestlé Bangladesh Limited donated nutritious Nestlé food products to the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund and Sajida Foundation.