For more information on the UNWA Welfare Committee activities,
contact Anowara Ahmed amahmed40@hotmail.com

One of the projects supported by UNWA’s Welfare Committee is the Participatory Development Action Programme (PDAP), which has its office in Mirpur.

It is a small NGO but the women working there are very enthusiastic about helping the poor who live around them.

PDAP works with adolescent girls and women who are destitute by helping with credit, income and employment generation, and health and education.

It also tells them about their rights and helps to raise awareness.

PDAP reaches 3,000 women with a budget of Tk. 600,000. Half the budget is provided by the Canadian aid agency CIDA while the rest comes from donations.

PDAP’s director is Quazi Baby. There are 22 paid staff and 8 volunteers who have been working in the slums around their office for five years.

During a visit to the project, UNWA Welfare Committee members saw young girls being taught to read and write Bangla.

They saw weavers making sarees and women doing embroidery work.

Last year UNWA donated Tk 50,000 for a water pump and educational material.

PDAP is a well-organised NGO with a lot of potential for future growth.