Zakat is one of the basic five worships of Islam. Muslims have to pay Zakat every year if they have a certain amount of resources. The main purposes of Zakat are to alleviate poverty, reduce inequality and ensure social security. Poverty and economic inequality are serious problems in the current world. According to the World Bank, about 3 billion people worldwide are poor whose daily income is less than $ 2.50. 1.3 billion People are extreme poor, whose daily income is less than $ 1.25. On the other hand, a study by the world-renowned media, The Guardian, showed that 50% of the world’s wealth is owned by only 5%. Such extreme inequalities and terrible poverty create various social and economic problems as well as make the lives of poor people very difficult.
Zakat is playing a major role in eliminating such poverty and reducing inequality. However, in many countries like Bangladesh, zakat is not paid properly. Cheap cloths and other goods are being distributed among many countries in the name of Zakat. So, the basic purpose of zakat, elimination of poverty, is not met through distributing zakat in this manner. On the other hand, many times fatal accidents are happening due to giving zakat in this manner. Therefore, the UHH has initiated a scheme for the payment of Zakat, which will meet the basic aims of Zakat. Poverty will go away. Economic and social inequality will be reduced. The project is Zakat for Small Enterprise (ZSE). Under this scheme zakat will be collected systematically and distributed according to Sharia. This project will create small entrepreneurs through the charity of Zakat. These small entrepreneurs will get rid of their own poverty & in the future, they will be able to rid others of the vicious cycle of poverty by paying Zakat. If this project is implemented properly, a good chain will be created to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality Insha Allah.
UHH believes in empowering people rather than short-term support. Empowerment makes them aware and confident of their rights. UHH conducts this program through its Community Leadership Program. The purpose of this program is to create efficient community leader at the local level so that they can solve local problems themselves and participate in development activities through inclusive participation in local government. Any Volunteer of UHH might be an active community leader through receiving community leadership training of UHH.
Bangladesh ranks fifth among the countries with the poorest people. According to the World Bank, there are 20.41 million poor people in Bangladesh and about 6 million poor people whose daily income is below $ 3. Due to this discrimination between the rich and the poor, many social problems have arisen in Bangladesh. One of these social problems is that education and its associated value in Bangladesh are increasing day by day. As a result, a section of the poor are deprived of their right to education. UHH wants to educate poor people in the light of education through its SUS project. This is a chain project. Under this project only scholarship is given to those who pledge to help others in the present & future through different manner.
People are not only getting physically ill, but also mentally ill. According to World Health Organization (WHO), depression affects people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all countries. Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. In fact, it affects 322 million people in the world and over 6 million people in Bangladesh. It causes mental anguish and impacts on people’s ability to carry out even the simplest everyday tasks, with sometimes devastating consequences for relationships with family and friends and the ability to earn a living. At worst, depression can lead to suicide, now the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year olds. Data from Global School-Based Student Health Survey (2014) shows that of 13-17 year old students in Bangladesh, 7% attempted suicide in the last 12 months while 8% made a suicide plan and 5% considered attempting it. The same report found that 5% of students from the same age group could not sleep because of being worried, 11% felt lonely most of times or always (12% boys, 9% girls) and 8% had no close friends.
The level of mental illness is increasing compared to the past, but the awareness is not increasing in equal measure. A large number of the people are not taking this issue seriously. As a result, this problem is getting worse day by day. Recognizing the importance of the problem, UHH has adopted the HADM project. Under this project, UHH is working on prevention, treatment and recovery of depression. UHH has been working to make people aware of the horrors of the problem. Depression awareness campaigns are being conducted regularly by UHH at both public and private universities in Bangladesh.
The taboo around menstrual health is still as prevalent in the society of Bangladesh as it was for many years — despite the issue concerning half of the population. These taboos emerge from an absence of proper awareness and management of menstrual hygiene, causing more complications to the already sensitive and painful occurrence. Proper management of menstrual hygiene is extremely important for every woman, not only due to their health concerns, but also when it is about giving birth to a healthy child. If menstruation hygiene is not properly maintained, it would have a long term impact on the number of patients having complications due to unhealthy practices during menstruation that would consequently have an adverse effect on the entire health system.
However, the reality is that due to the taboo and various limitations, most women in Bangladesh are still unable to manage menstrual hygiene. According to the Bangladesh National Hygiene baseline report in 2014, using old cloths or rugs instead of a sanitary napkin was the predominant menstruation management material for nearly 89%t of menstruating girls and women. UHH has adopted the HAMH project to change and improve the current condition of menstrual management. The basic objective of the HAMH project is to break the taboo, make women aware enough about it & make healthy menstruation easy and accessible.
Health Advocacy and Free Medical Campaigns are the regular projects of UHH. With this project, UHH organizes day-long health advocacy and free medical campaigns in remote rural areas every month. The campaign went on from the morning at 9am to afternoon at 5pm. There are a minimum of 6 doctors and 3 medical assistants in each campaign where 350 to 400 patients are provided with the free medical treatment with the necessary medicines
Bangladesh is one of the most populous countries in the world. Due to its geographical structure and location, Bangladesh is naturally regarded as a disaster-prone country. About 64% of Bangladesh’s areas suffer from various types of disasters. Natural disasters are a familiar sight for this country. Disaster has become a major obstacle to the overall economic development of the country. Among the natural disasters occurring in Bangladesh are cyclones and tides, floods, droughts, rivers, earthquakes, earthquakes, tornadoes, kalabishakshi.
It is not possible for humans to prevent natural disasters. But, with the help of efficient management before and after a disaster, disaster damage can be greatly reduced. Bangladesh has already shown considerable success in disaster management. UHH, through its ERDMP project, has been carrying out various pre-disaster awareness and disaster relief programs since its inception. In the future, UHH will pay its best concentration to develop some sustainable models dealing with disaster efficiently through conducting research.
The risk of environment and ecosystem is increasing day by day due to the unconscious work of the human being. Global temperatures are rising. The world is gradually warming up. Climate is changing fast. As a result, human beings, their health and wealth all are at risk. The UHH wants to keep the world livable. UHH has taken the CEE project to care for the environment and ecosystem. Through this project, UHH is doing positive work for the environment and ecosystem.
Health and medical are part of the basic rights of the human being. Any human being has the right to seek appropriate and advanced medical care. However, most of the people in Bangladesh are still deprived of proper treatment due to poverty and lack of opportunity. UHH is working with marginalized and underprivileged people through its HADM, HAFMC and HAMH projects. Due to limitations of affordability, the UHH cannot afford full medical care for many poor patients. But sometimes UHH faces a number of poor patients who need full treatment but are unable to get treatment due to poverty. Therefore, UHH desires to extend its support to such patients according to its capabilities. Meanwhile, UHH is providing full medical support to the destitute patients through the SDP project.
The refugee crisis is one of the major problems in the present world. Millions of people worldwide have been persecuted from their mother land and taken shelter in different countries. Bangladesh is not free from this problem. A large part of the world’s refugees have been living in Bangladesh for the past few decades. From August 25, 2017 to October 2018, over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees have taken refuge in Bangladesh. UHH believes that it is important for all humanitarians of the world to come forward in helping these helpless and vulnerable refugees. UHH has been working for these disadvantaged people through its SR project. In the meantime, UHH has cooperated with about .1 million refugees in various ways. UHH has provided food, clothing, shelter, medical, education, pure water and healthy sanitation among Rohingyas.
UHH has had direct and indirect impacts of its work on approximately one lac people since its inception. UHH has implemented 9 HAFMC projects in various places of the country so far and has provided medical treatment to about 1,0000 people. In addition, UHH has provided different kinds of humane service among about one lac deprived, destitute and refugees through its SR, ERDM, SUS, HAMH and CEE project.
The whole Bangladesh is the work area of UHH. UHH has already implemented its various projects in Mymensingh, Netrokona, Gopalganj, Manikganj, Sunamganj, Cox’s Bazar, Rangpur, Chadpur, Shariatpur and Natore.