Linked with Asha Lata Baidya – Bangladesh.
Sunflower is an association of motivated Bangladeshi citizens, working towards the empowerment of 145,000 poor and oppressed people in 750 of the poorest villages in the country. Sunflower helps women and their families understand their situations and take positive steps to raise themselves out of poverty.
As a young girl growing up in rural Bangladesh, Asha Lata could see that people’s lives were miserable and deprived because of poverty. She could also see inequality – that the accepted norms in society favoured men, and oppressed women.
While still a school girl she became an activist, fighting poverty and advocating equality for womenfolk.
In 1980 she started working as a voluntary social worker in four of the poorest villages of her home district, Kotwalipara. This grew in to Sunflower.
Objectives;
History;
How we help;
Contact.
About: n Bangladesh we are known as SMS. This is short for Surjamukhi Sangstha (Sunflower Association).
Sunflower is a 100% indigenous non-government organisation (NGO). Our constitution and rules are laid out in our Charter, which was registered with the Bangladesh Government Department of Social Welfare on 11th January 1983 (Registration Number F-0237). Sunflower is also registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau, which falls under the Prime Minister’s Office (Registration Number 231 dated 30th August 1987).
Our name draws upon the symbolism of both the sun and the sunflower as providing physical and spiritual strength, sustenance and energy for all of humanity, especially the poor. Our motto is EDUCATION, HONESTY and UNITY. We are a humanitarian, non sectarian, democratic community based organisation. Our beneficiary groups and our workers include Muslims, Hindus and Christians. (full text).
