Discussion: View Thread

  • 1.  BRAC and Cyclone

    Posted 11-19-2007 23:06
    Hey, everyone  - just got this. So did Dianne Welsh, who sent this on to the officers of the ENT Division, but everyone needs to see this. [I hope you'll forgive redundant messages.]

    Susan Davis was the Ashoka person who anchored the double-PDW we had back in August. BRAC is one of *the* success stories of bottom-up entrepreneurial development; I was amazed when Johanna Mair first described BRAC to me years ago. Still amazing... but could use our help.

    As Dianne W told me, "It makes all our problems seem small." Does it ever.
    www.brac.net/usa - for more info and for how to support this.

    I'd like to think that we could figure out what else we can do. BRAC has already sprung into action with some obviously serious planning. But for now, every little bit helps.  Please forward on to your local contacts. Thanks for the time, my friends!
    N

    p.s. Susan - what else CAN we do?

    From: Susan Davis
    Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 8:48 PM
    Cc: monica@bracusa.org; rachael@bracusa.org
    Subject: BRAC and Cyclone

     

    Dear Friends,

    Many of you may be wondering what has happened to BRAC in the wake of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh. F.H. Abed, Chairman and Founder of BRAC, wanted me to tell you that he appreciates your solidarity and messages of support.

    Upon hearing of the impending cyclone, 2,500 BRAC field staff were immediately mobilized to help evacuate people ahead of time, resulting in a much lower death toll than expected. Despite moving quickly, field staff reported that over 446,000 houses have been damaged or fully destroyed, and that almost half of these (over 215,000) are homes of BRAC members. Most low-income Bangladeshis live in homes made of bamboo, thatch, and jute stick, which were not able to withstand the 155 mile an hour winds.  In addition, 344 of BRAC's 3,054 offices were severely damaged by the cyclone.

    Unlike other relief organizations, BRAC has an ongoing relationship in these communities and is in a position to effectively provide both relief and rehabilitation support. BRAC will assist 150,000 families with emergency livelihood support through in-kind inputs for agricultural, poultry, and livestock micro entrepreneurs at an average cost of $15 per family. They will repair and restore 1,520 schools and centers destroyed by the cyclone at an average cost of $150 per school. In addition, BRAC will undertake a wide range of restorative programs and issue a weekly report to senior management on the performance and progress of all cyclone-related efforts. You can trust that funds will be used in the most efficient and effective way possible.

    BRAC estimates that it will need $4 million in the next month to effectively respond to the cyclone damage. They are contributing $1 million themselves from savings and staff donations, and request the remaining $3 million from friends like us. I encourage you to be part of BRAC's response by making a contribution of any size either by mail or directly on our website at www.brac.net/usa, or by sharing this with others.

    To stay current on post-cyclone news, see the BRAC blog at http://blog4brac.blogspot.com/

    Best wishes,

    Susan

    Susan Davis

    President & CEO

    BRAC USA

    11 East 44th St. Suite 1600

    New York, NY 10017

    Ph: (212) 808-5615

    Cell: (646) 239-4411

    www.brac.net/usa

     

    CC:

    Monica Restrepo

    Program Associate

    BRAC USA

    11 East 44th St. Suite 1600

    New York, NY 10017

    Ph: (212) 808-5615

    Cell: (267) 259-3381

    Email: Monica@bracusa.org

     

    Rachael Chong

    Program Associate

    BRAC USA

    11 East 44th St. Suite 1600

    New York, NY 10017

    Ph: (212) 808-5615

    Cell: (646) 354-3155

    Email: Rachael@bracusa.org

     

     

     




    --
    Keep entrepreneuring!
    Norris

    Norris F. Krueger, Jr., Ph.D.
    "How can I help you to help grow entrepreneurs?"    
    (208) 440-3747; skype: norris.krueger
          "I criticize by creation, not by finding fault" -Cicero ************************************** This message is from ENTREP which is sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. Please do not post messages with attached files. Commercial messages or spammed messages are not allowed on the list. The use of auto-responder "out-of-office" messages may also lead to your removal from the list. You can manage your subscription options, including joining or leaving the list here: http://aomlists.pace.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=entrep&A=1 If you have questions or need help, please contact Dr. John Bunch jbunch@benedictine.edu. Ventures HO!


  • 2.  BRAC and Cyclone

    Posted 11-20-2007 00:46
    Susan - Up late? Duly signed in at Facebook & pinged my quota of 20 friends. [Scroll down!]

    BRAC's swift responsiveness is such a great story - being local seems to have made it immensely more responsive. [As Ana Maria & Johanna had already explained to me... lol.. Filling the "institutional void" indeed!]

    Obviously, Susan, the priority here is to help the Bangladeshis, not publicize BRAC. But, there are some important lessons to take away that I hope we can figure out how to share, lessons that might be selling points to major media.

    Keep letting us all know how we can help - you must be slammed right now with this.

    N


    On Nov 19, 2007 10:23 PM, <thissdavis@aol.com > wrote:
    Thanks very much Norris for spreading the word on the cyclone in Bangladesh. I think everything you can do to let people know about the great work that BRAC does will help them see that it is not just people from abroad who fly in and 'rescue' locals in every emergency.  There is an alternative.  Building indigenous development organizations that are scalable and sustainable, led by terrific social entrepreneurs, is a better long term strategy and great use of aid donations.  And if you use Facebook, please click on the Facebook cause -BRAC Cyclone Survivor Fund and help us build a network of solidarity. I know the Bangladeshis are finding this very encouraging to see people respond.  Donations of every size most welcome.  And any media or blog postings about this to your networks are greatly appreciated.

    warm wishes,
    Susan

    Susan Davis
    President & CEO
    BRAC USA
    Chair, Global Academy for
      Social Entreprneurship
    Ashoka: Innovators for the Public




    -----Original Message-----
    From: Norris Krueger <norris.krueger@gmail.com>
    To: entrep@aomlists.pace.edu
    Cc: jeffrey.robinson@stern.nyu.edu; Alan L. Carsrud, Ph.D. <alan.carsrud@fiu.edu>; Ana María Peredo < aperedo@business.uvic.ca>; D'Intino, Robert Stephen <dintino@rowan.edu>; DIANNE WELSH < dwelsh@ut.edu>; Ignasi Marti <ignasi.marti@sbs.ox.ac.uk>; Mair, Johanna <jmair@iese.edu>; Moriah Meyskens < mmeyskens@gmail.com>; Schulte, William <wschulte@su.edu>; Susan Davis < thissdavis@aol.com>; Thomas J Dean <deantj@colorado.edu>; rmauer@online.de; ArcherG05@darden.virginia.edu
    Sent: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:06 pm
    Subject: BRAC and Cyclone

    Hey, everyone  - just got this. So did Dianne Welsh, who sent this on to the officers of the ENT Division, but everyone needs to see this. [I hope you'll forgive redundant messages.]

    Susan Davis was the Ashoka person who anchored the double-PDW we had back in August. BRAC is one of *the* success stories of bottom-up entrepreneurial development; I was amazed when Johanna Mair first described BRAC to me years ago. Still amazing... but could use our help.

    As Dianne W told me, "It makes all our problems seem small." Does it ever.
    www.brac.net/usa - for more info and for how to support this.

    I'd like to think that we could figure out what else we can do. BRAC has already sprung into action with some obviously serious planning. But for now, every little bit helps.  Please forward on to your local contacts. Thanks for the time, my friends!
    N

    p.s. Susan - what else CAN we do?
    From: Susan Davis
    Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 8:48 PM
    Cc: monica@bracusa.org; rachael@bracusa.org
    Subject: BRAC and Cyclone
     
    Dear Friends,
    Many of you may be wondering what has happened to BRAC in the wake of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh. F.H. Abed, Chairman and Founder of BRAC, wanted me to tell you that he appreciates your solidarity and messages of support.
    Upon hearing of the impending cyclone, 2,500 BRAC field staff were immediately mobilized to help evacuate people ahead of time, resulting in a much lower death toll than expected. Despite moving quickly, field staff reported that over 446,000 houses have been damaged or fully destroyed, and that almost half of these (over 215,000) are homes of BRAC members. Most low-income Bangladeshis live in homes made of bamboo, thatch, and jute stick, which were not able to withstand the 155 mile an hour winds.  In addition, 344 of BRAC's 3,054 offices were severely damaged by the cyclone.
    Unlike other relief organizations, BRAC has an ongoing relationship in these communities and is in a position to effectively provide both relief and rehabilitation support. BRAC will assist 150,000 families with emergency livelihood support through in-kind inputs for agricultural, poultry, and livestock micro entrepreneurs at an average cost of $15 per family. They will repair and restore 1,520 schools and centers destroyed by the cyclone at an average cost of $150 per school. In addition, BRAC will undertake a wide range of restorative programs and issue a weekly report to senior management on the performance and progress of all cyclone-related efforts. You can trust that funds will be used in the most efficient and effective way possible.
    BRAC estimates that it will need $4 million in the next month to effectively respond to the cyclone damage. They are contributing $1 million themselves from savings and staff donations, and request the remaining $3 million from friends like us. I encourage you to be part of BRAC's response by making a contribution of any size either by mail or directly on our website at www.brac.net/usa, or by sharing this with others.
    To stay current on post-cyclone news, see the BRAC blog at http://blog4brac.blogspot.com/
    Best wishes,
    Susan
    Susan Davis
    President & CEO
    BRAC USA
    11 East 44th St. Suite 1600
    New York, NY 10017
    Ph: (212) 808-5615
    Cell: (646) 239-4411
     
    CC:
    Monica Restrepo
    Program Associate
    BRAC USA
    11 East 44th St. Suite 1600
    New York, NY 10017
    Ph: (212) 808-5615
    Cell: (267) 259-3381
     
    Rachael Chong
    Program Associate
    BRAC USA
    11 East 44th St. Suite 1600
    New York, NY 10017
    Ph: (212) 808-5615
    Cell: (646) 354-3155
     
     
     



    --
    Keep entrepreneuring!
    Norris

    Norris F. Krueger, Jr., Ph.D.
    "How can I help you to help grow entrepreneurs?"    
    (208) 440-3747; skype: norris.krueger
          "I criticize by creation, not by finding fault" -Cicero
    Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail!



    --
    Keep entrepreneuring!
    Norris

    Norris F. Krueger, Jr., Ph.D.
    "How can I help you to help grow entrepreneurs?"    
    (208) 440-3747; skype: norris.krueger
          "I criticize by creation, not by finding fault" -Cicero ************************************** This message is from ENTREP which is sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. Please do not post messages with attached files. Commercial messages or spammed messages are not allowed on the list. The use of auto-responder "out-of-office" messages may also lead to your removal from the list. You can manage your subscription options, including joining or leaving the list here: http://aomlists.pace.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=entrep&A=1 If you have questions or need help, please contact Dr. John Bunch jbunch@benedictine.edu. Ventures HO!