Meet the winners of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Values Award 2024

The founder of BRAC, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, once said, ‘The success of an organisation depends on the dedication, compassion, and competency of its employees towards its goals and objectives.

BRAC employees are working persistently to improve the lives of the underprivileged. Their constant efforts develop a certain attitude among them, which gives life to BRAC’s culture and values.For the effective execution of development initiatives, professional competence and a clear commitment to the organisation’s values are crucial. The first ever BRAC Values Award took place on Wednesday 2 February 2011 at BRAC’s head office with the aim to recognise and encourage employees’ dedication. The purpose of these awards is to recognise the success and competence of BRAC employees and to further encourage them to embrace and engage in practising values.Four core values of BRAC are integrity, innovation, inclusiveness and effectiveness. The Values Award is presented in these categories to recognise and celebrate commitment to these values.

In 2024, a total of 13 employees from BRAC and BRAC International received the Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Awareness Award. They have been introduced briefly below.

Amina Khatun is referred to as ‘Bubu’ by everyone in both her personal and professional lives because of her encouraging attitude toward coworkers of all ages. She has always stepped up to help others in need and supported her coworkers through several difficulties. She has demonstrated exceptional patience throughout her career, not letting the numerous challenges and obstacles stop her from trying her hardest to achieve her goals. She has also established a paradigm of honesty in every sphere of.

Mohasin Ali has demonstrated excellent analytical skills through multiple instances of adverse circumstances. He has implemented timely decisions in executing various action plans. He is particularly known for promoting non-discriminatory behaviour and decision-making regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity, both personally and professionally. Alongside working with dedication and integrity in his career, he has always stood by his team members during crises and adversities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he tirelessly worked for the safety of the local community and staff members. At one point, he himself was infected with the coronavirus, fought for 19 days against death, and emerged victorious.

Based on his field experience, Md. Imdadul Haque actively engages in innovative decision-making, implementation, and advancement of projects. He is well-regarded and recognised by all as a dedicated, hardworking, and successful employee. Alongside his role as a diligent worker, he plays a significant part in addressing social issues such as child marriage and sexual harassment, promoting fair conduct and providing necessary assistance to people in society from all walks of life.

S.M. Sarowar Hossain has been instrumental in coordinating gender mainstreaming initiatives at BRAC, aligning field offices and head office directives. He not only serves as a supportive supervisor but also plays a significant role in promoting awareness about the participation of female employees and enhancing women’s empowerment in the workplace. His dedication to implementing any initiative with integrity has earned him recognition.

Shahanas Parvin has consistently fulfilled her responsibilities as a branch manager with integrity and dedication. As a courageous and enterprising woman, she has travelled extensively across the country on a motorcycle for work. With her expertise, she effectively manages time, adopts new skills promptly, and maintains transparency. She also inspires women to engage in income-generating and productive work for empowerment.

During the Covid-19 pandemic or Dengue outbreak, he rushed into serving people without thinking about the risk of his own life. He not only carried BRAC within himself but also embraced humanity. Regardless of nationality, race, or religion, he was always there serving people. His sincerity and native behaviour impressed the people of his working area.

After joining the Hut Branch at Ulipur, Kurigram, in 2017, Keya Sarkar took the initiative of creating one after another village organisation, gradually increasing the reputation of the branch. She also played a vital role in setting free rural communities from the trap of money lenders. Through incorporating BRAC’s values and empathetic behaviour, she has become an exemplary role in both the hut branch office and village organisations.

With sincere efforts and faith in BRAC’s values, Shopna Mandol has been consistently working for 24 years. Her expertise in proper planning, implementation, and staffing has brought positive changes. She always protested against various injustices with intelligence and courage and always encouraged her staff to achieve the goals of the programme.

In BRAC’s effort to create employment opportunities and agricultural development, Md. Azizul Haque has been working tirelessly in addressing various problems faced by the impoverished farmers of Bangladesh. He has shown creativity by taking alternative initiative through diligence, cleanliness, and risk assessment in all his work. With timely and effective steps, he played a significant role in the success of BRAC enterprise.

Lemmy Lucian is specially known for creating a favourable environment and fostering a friendly atmosphere for BRAC employees and members. He has collaborated with the government to incorporate digital skills and coding into the education system in Tanzania, creating a new curriculum. Besides, he has also worked diligently to create the new curriculum with the Education Authority, the Institute of Education, and the Ministry of Education to enrich the youth with technology knowledge. He has assisted over a thousand people in acquiring technology education. Additionally, Lemmy Lucian has established a platform called the Technology Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme (TEAP) for the youth, where they can present their technology business ideas.

With a belief in the saying ‘success comes from teamwork,’ Jackline Buyamba has played an invaluable role in transforming the Core Banking System (T24) in a new way. Additionally, through continuously practising BRAC’s values, she has become unique among everyone. Through her friendly behaviour, she has fostered a favourable work environment. Jackline works with a mindset of embracing changes and continuous learning.

Cultivating the concept – the opportunity to contribute to the country’s socio-economic changes, Asia Botea has been working with all the people of society. In response to dissatisfaction with BRAC following an unexpected incident in Dar es Salaam, Asia Botea took the initiative to work with local people. Through her various efforts, BRAC’s reputation was restored in the area. Apart from this, she has taken innovative steps in implementing programmes.

By practising BRAC’s values in both her personal and professional life, Maria Zar Chi Lin has gained wide acceptance. For her, there is no distinction between small and big works. With a keen interest in learning new things, Maria recently launched an agricultural credit pilot project in rural Myanmar, which has already been considered a successful pilot project. She has taken various innovative initiatives as needed for her work. Although often faced with failure, she has taken it as a learning experience and moved forward.