Sustainable Development Goals

No Poverty: Globally, more than 800 million people are still living on less than $1.25 a day. Many lack adequate food, clean drinking water, and sanitation. The problems of poverty not only exist in Bangladesh but all over the world. Agape Social Concern’s goal is to uplift and empower the people of Bangladesh to bring them out of poverty by giving them the tools that they need to be self-sufficient; for example, education. Hence, we use the tagline, “breaking the cycle of poverty by empowering people”.

According to WFP, Under nutrition costs Bangladesh more than USD one billion in lost productivity every year, and even more in health care costs. 41% of children (approx. 7 million) under the age of five are chronically undernourished; they are too short for their age, a condition known as stunting. We understand the struggle that a child in our community has to go through for just a simple meal. Hence, we try to eliminate wastage and recycle and reuse everything possible. We teach each and every child not to waste food and to be considerate of the people in the community. Furthermore, waste from the kitchen is used to create compost for the farming land and also to feed the livestock.

With the mortality rate being high in Bangladesh, we take healthcare very seriously at Agape Social Concern. We teach the importance of vaccination and other healthcare practices in the community. We cover minute details such as personal hygiene. Mercy Clinic at Home Of Peace offers free health care to children at HOP with utmost care and ensures their well-being.

We cannot stress the importance of good education enough. It is our highest priority that the people in the community are educated to be let free of the cycle of poverty. We are providing free quality education by meeting the standard set by the government and we are also providing adult literacy training within the community.

Gender equality is not a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Bangladesh has a problem, a problem that is widespread. Gender inequality is an issue that needs the attention of people. Women are not treated equally even in the cities. At Agape Social Concern, we want to bridge the gap and empower women and give them the tools that they need to keep their heads raised high in society. Child marriage, lack of education, lack of skills is some of the bondages that a woman in Bangladesh encounters.

Water scarcity affects more than 40% of people around the world, an alarming figure that is projected to increase with the rise of global temperatures. Clean water is a scarce commodity in Bangladesh as well. Arsenic contamination is widespread in our community. Thus, Agape is taking action to provide clean water by installing tube-wells and by educating people about the problems associated with the issue at hand.

Efforts to encourage clean energy has resulted in more than 20% of global power being generated by renewable sources. Still, one in seven people lack access to electricity, and as the demand continues to rise, there needs to be a substantial increase in the production of renewable energy in the world. Currently Home of Peace and its working areas have little to no supply of electricity. Agape Social Concern is currently exploring the possibility of powering the entire campus of Home of Peace by using green energy sources.

At Home of Peace, we try to source all that we feed to our children from the local market where people from the local community bring what they harvest in the villages. This practice ensures equal growth and income to the people in the community.

We must build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation. Investments in infrastructure such as transport, irrigation, energy and information, and communication technology are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities.   It has long been recognized that growth in productivity, improvements in health care and education requires investment in infrastructure.

We must call upon actions to reduce inequalities, in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, and economic or other statuses within a country.  At Agape Social Concern, We follow a strict policy where we stand against any sort of inequality. We do this by education, which is the foundation of all that is good.

More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise substantially. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build. We must have our environment in mind before taking any action to reduce pollution and deforestation to reduce the negative impact on the environment.

Achieving economic growth and sustainable development require that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. At Agape we are taking action to have a positive impact by implementing solar energy project, organic farming, hydroponic farming, recycling and sourcing what we consume from within the community.

There is no country in the world that is not experiencing the drastic effects of climate change. Global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not take action now. At Agape, we are educating the children and the community about climate change and the problems associated with it through awareness programs to have a long-lasting positive impact on the environment.

It is essential to conserve and sustainable use the marine resources for sustainable development. The increasing adverse impacts of climate change including ocean solidification, over fishing, and marine pollution are jeopardizing the marine life. At Agape, we teach the importance of conserving marine life and promote the elimination of waste dumping in the rivers, ponds, and ocean to care for life under water.

Human life depends on the earth as much as the ocean for our sustenance and livelihoods. Plant life provides 80% our human diet, and we rely on agriculture as an important economic resource and means of development. Forest’s account for 30% of the earth’s surface, providing vital habitats for millions of species and are also important sources for clean air and water. We are keeping our campus as green as possible by planting trees, and organic crops to keep our environment as clean and friendly as possible. Furthermore, we teach the importance of conserving life on land to the people in the community.

Without peace, stability, human rights and effective governance based on the rule of law, we cannot hope for sustainable development. We live in a world that is increasingly divided. Some regions enjoy sustained levels of peace, security, and prosperity, while others fall into the seemingly endless cycle of conflict and violence. At Agape Social Concern, we educate the students and the community about their rights to vote, education, etc.  So that they can be productive and just members of society.

We must seek to strengthen global partnerships to support sustenance and achieve sustainable development. We must make an effort to bring together national governments, the international community, civil society, and all stakeholders.