It was wonderful to see many of you during our virtual fundraiser. You can see the video from the Zoom event below. Thanks to all of you who have donated to Samhati.

_{Zoom Video from October 4, 2020 Samhati Virtual Fundraiser. Includes presentation about our current projects and update on our activities.}

We really enjoyed seeing you even though it was not possible to catch up. Special thanks to Antora Rahman for her beautiful performance. Many thanks to all of you for your support. We have raised approximately $40,000 from the fundraiser, taking into account the pledged donations. We will soon be sending receipts from our yahoo account – Samhati1984@yahoo.com — so please do add this address to your contacts.

Our annual budget is $60,000 so we are still of course taking donations and you may DONATE through this link or by sending a check payable to “Samhati” to: Samhati, 13107 Laneview Ct., Oak Hill, VA 20171. We are also able to take donations of stocks through our brokerage account. And yes, we can even take donations in Bangladeshi Taka if the donation amount is 100,000 Takas or more (approximately $1200). We can also take monthly donations, either through a Paypal monthly donation (just check the box) or by arrangement with your bank. Please email us at info@samhati.org if you’d like information on these options for donation.

We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from you during this difficult time. Sending our wishes for good health and all the best to you and your families here and around the world.

With our sincere thanks,
The Samhati Board and Advisors

_{Antora Rahman dancing from her new studio in Atlanta.}

_{Board members Jahanara Hasan and Jhinuk Hasan-Fulton showing how to make Chotpoti.}

_{Anita Jahan Bose’s presentation on Samhati. View the video above to see and hear the full presentation and our video update from Katakhali/Modhukhali.}

Please mark your calendars and buy your tickets for the Samhati virtual fundraiser on Sunday, October 4 at 5-6 pm.

We hope that you and your family and friends are safe as we continue to grapple with the pandemic around the world.Our deepest condolences to everyone who has lost family or friends. Samhati’s work is continuing despite the coronavirus challenges. We need your help more than ever this year. Our 2020 fundraiser will be a virtual event on Sunday, October 4, 2019, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm on Zoom. It will be a teatime/cocktail event from each of our homes.We hope that you will join us with your own beverage of choice. We will also send you two exclusive recipes from Samhati board member chefs and invite you to prepare them and join us online. Here is link to the invitation, flyer, and recipes.

Founded in 1984, Samhati is the longest-running organization of Bangladeshi women in the United States.We design and support small projects – focused on education, health, and environmental sustainability – to improve the lives of impoverished women and families in Bangladesh. Samhati is tax-exempt (IRS ID Number 52-1390261). As an all-volunteer organization with negligible overhead, Samhati can direct approximately 95% of your contributions to needy families. This year we are also trying to help our programs cope with COVID-19.
-If you donate $75, it will provide a one-year scholarship to ensure that a middle or high school child stays in school and does not have to work, or when school is closed, provides help to the whole family.
-A donation of $100 will provide adult literacy or vocational classes for a village woman.
-A donation of $250 will help 20 families with a cash stipend for food during the pandemic.
-A donation of $500 will fund our health clinic in Katakhali village for one month, providing care for the entire Barobaishdia Island of 27,000 people.
-Your gift of $1000 will support 80 families with small cash grants during the pandemic.

LINK TO PURCHASE TICKETS/DONATE

During the pandemic, Samhati is continuing to pay all our local workers in Bangladesh and to provide scholarships to our students.We are now providing socially-distant trainings in literacy, sewing, farming, and computer literacy. We have funded the sewing of masks and COVID-safety awareness.We have distributed masks and cash stipends to over 500 families. Please support our work and join us on October 4 to learn more.

With our best wishes and many thanks,
The Samhati Board and Advisors

photo credit: Tania Chatterjee

Dear friends,

We hope you are well during this terrible pandemic. We extend our condolences to everyone who has lost friends or family members to COVID-19. We wanted to provide an update on the situation in Bangladesh and to ask for your support.

The novel coronavirus has killed and is currently affecting many people we know in Bangladesh, especially in urban areas. The virus has also started to spread in rural areas. Testing and treatment are very limited. After several weeks of lockdown, many businesses and programs have reopened in Bangladesh as of June 1, 2020, including Samhati’s empowerment programs in Laksmichamp Union, Natore, and Katakhali. The villagers cannot survive under continuous lockdown and are slowly resuming some activities. In all our programs, we are trying to educate everyone on hand-washing and social distancing and wearing masks. This is not easy, as there is no running water in some of our program locations.

During the lockdown, Samhati organized a mask-sewing program in Katakhali, and distributed over 400 masks to community members and their families. Our medical clinic in Katakhali has remained open, but most calls are handled by phone and we have tried to provide adequate protective equipment for clinic workers. We are continuing to make and distribute masks and to educate people on their use. In order to be able to help people with COVID-19 symptoms, we need to purchase supplies such as thermal temperature scanner, pulse oxymeters, oxygen tanks, and PPE for clinic staff.

Our community members in all three locations have been hard hit by the coronavirus lockdown, as they have been unable to work or run their small businesses. We received the following request from the Laksmichamp program coordinator: “Disadvantaged families are experiencing food insecurity. Most of our income-generating initiatives for women have been damaged during the lockdown. Government grant support is insufficient. If possible, we need emergency support for the families here.” The Samhati board met via Zoom and decided to provide a small grant of 1,000 takas (around $12) per family for the approximately 500 families in our programs. We are planning to immediately send the money and would like to raise $5,000 for a special coronavirus relief fund.

You can donate to this coronavirus relief fund by using a credit card or mailing us a check. Follow this link for credit card donations.
Or send a check payable to “Samhati” and mail to:

Samhati
13107 Laneview Ct.
Oak Hill, VA 20171, USA

Regarding our fundraisers this year, we canceled our spring tea due to the pandemic, and our fall fundraiser will likely be an online event in early October. We will send you details as they develop.

Thanks so much for your continued support. Please stay safe and wear a mask when you go out!

The Samhati Board of Directors (Rumana, Monica, Jhinuk, Cima, Sudipa, Roquia, Nellie, Shaan and Alema)

June 10, 2020

Dear Friends of Samhati:

We hope that, even in the midst of this pandemic, you are feeling energized by the wave of protests and gatherings around the world in response to the horrific murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police.  Samhati, a social justice organization devoted to empowering low-income women and families in Bangladesh, condemns anti-Black racism and police brutality and expresses solidarity with the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and the countless others who have lost their lives due to anti-Black racism. We hesitated to write this letter because we do not have staff or programs in the US, but in the end we decided that we should share our thoughts.

Racial injustice is not new in America. Hundreds of years of slavery, subjugation, inequalities, brutalities, systemic racism, and explicit biases have brought us to where we are. All of us who are not Black need to do more to recognize our implicit biases and bring about change.  

To help build a bridge of understanding, we need to educate ourselves about social injustice, dehumanization, false accusations, disproportionate imprisonment, institutional racism, and the Black experience. While Samhati’s work is in Bangladesh, we would like to share some resources with our community here in the US:

–As a starting point for learning how systemic racism operates in the US, here is a suggested reading list.  

— This article is a resource on how South Asians can work toward anti-racism.

— This article discusses alternatives to calling the police.

— We encourage you to sign the Color of Change petition and to give input to your local government on reducing the police budget, increasing community services, reforming police practices, and protecting protestors and their First Amendment rights. Here is a Washington Post article that explains the need to reduce our reliance on police.

Samhati means “solidarity.” We stand in solidarity with the Black community. We believe that #BlackLivesMatter.

Thank you for your continued support of Samhati and our programs. Let’s all get to work to end racism and build a more just world for everyone.

In solidarity,
The Samhati Directors and Advisors

Image credit: Amy Morse.