Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) was founded in 1958 and works to enhance people’s capacities to maximally utilize their inner potentials. Their main purpose is to improve living conditions for vulnerable people in all ages. They work with a multifaceted thematic focus and diverse programmes including education, health, livelihood, human rights & social justice, disaster risk reduction and climate changes. DAM is member of the Social Protection Working Group in Bangladesh and is therefore very well placed to take forward ageing issues in the country that like many is facing a massive increase in the 60+ group over the next 40 years.

The mission is running community-based centres in 35 districts of Bangladesh and is supporting the HelpAge global network’s reach into even the smallest communities of rural Bangladesh. They are currently building their capacity to focus more on health and care, intergenerational work and other types of community-based work with and for older people. DAM receives funding from both the Government and the public and has a well-developed capacity to do institutional fundraising and generating resources through running social enterprises.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission became HelpAge global network member in October 2012.

DAM’s current geographical focus is the location with high concentration of poverty and disadvantaged groups of population and remote locations.It  further concentrate investment in areas with high climatic and environmental risk, smaller growth centres and towns with limited services and care, and existing locations with high disaster risk. It continues to monitor the changes in current east-west divide in the distribution of poverty and invest in the north-west part of the country that remains the poorest region of Bangladesh. DAM utilize this dominant macro-analysis as it is very likely to have pockets of poverty within relatively well-off regions. Geographical remoteness such as river and offshore islands, areas affected by salinity intrusion, biodiversity loss and chronic slow onset disaster such as drought. In selected locations, based on the needs and feasibility, the DAM institutional services are being expanded gradually.