Spreeha Bangladesh Foundation

With the grave resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic in this part of the world, the need for access to quality & affordable healthcare is now direr than ever. The worst affected are the members of the underserved communities of Bangladesh. The crisis stems from two major factors – lack of affordability and the severe lack of health consciousness. Every year, up to five million people in Bangladesh are being pushed into poverty due to excessive out-of-pocket spending on medical needs. With such rapid increase in medical costs, quality healthcare is indeed a matter of great concern. 

Spreeha Bangladesh Foundation is a social enterprise based in Bangladesh that is committed to enabling individuals and communities to rise above social barriers with use of creative solutions. They use Human Centred Design (HCD) to identify & understand human problems, create relevant solutions and deliver them in a sustainable way. We blend values of non-profit, power of digital technology & practices of commercial organisations. By 2025, Spreeha want to inspire a million lives. 

Activities:

1. Community healthcare projects focusing on empathetic treatment and community awareness
2. Telehealth projects reaching home-bound patients in remote areas
3. Education projects for soft skills development in preschoolers, school-age children and youths
4. Skills training projects for 18-35 years old unemployed youths
5. Eye projects fighting preventable blindness
6. Emergency disaster response related projects

Drishti: for a clearer tomorrow

Problem Statement

Because of the expensive nature and the need for constant follow-up, eye treatment tends to be delayed in Bangladesh. This leads over 6 million eye patients towards visual impairment and preventable blindness. Delay in cataract detection, unsafe surgeries and treatment are leading causes which can disrupt an individual’s social life significantly.

Solution

Spreeha’s project Drishti, the gift of sight, aims at fighting avoidable blindness in underserved population through providing integrated people-centered eye care.

Key activities of the solution are –

• Conduct screening for cataract detection
• Provide pre-operative care and counselling
• Conduct cataract surgeries
• Provide post-operative care and prescriptions

Target Impact:

• Target beneficiary: 100 underserved and aged patients
• Duration: 3-months

Estimated Budget:

• Per beneficiary cost USD 70
• Total Cost USD 7,000

Spreeha’s credibility and experience

As of September 2022, Spreeha has supported integrated people-centered eye care for over 2600 underserved people:

• Eye screening for cataract detection for over 2600 underserved people

Cataract surgeries for 316 underserved patients all over Bangladesh

Kusholi: Training for Young People

Problem Statement

Bangladesh is struggling to grow into an economic power house despite having a demographic dividend of youth boom due to lack in employable skills training. 30% skill gap exists in the industries, especially in ICT and big electronic sectors. As productivity and efficiency declines, 13.1% of young people remain unemployed.

Solution

Spreeha’s project Kusholi, the skillful, aims at empowering young and unemployed people from underserved communities through supporting them to avail technical training for increasing employability.

Key activities of the solutions are –

• Conduct skills awareness sessions
• Provide scholarships for skill training
• Counsel trainees for job placement

Target Impact:

• Target beneficiary: 100 underserved and unemployed 18-35 years old youths
• Training course: ICT and digital skills
• Awareness: Increased awareness on skills training need to sustain at job market
• Duration: 6-months

Estimated Budget:

• Per trainee cost USD 110
• Total Cost USD 11,000

Spreeha’s credibility and experience:

As of December 2021, Spreeha has reached around 15000 young people with skills training and skills training awareness. Apart from placing trainees in certified courses, Spreeha also have own computer and tailoring training center for entrepreneurs, unemployed youths and students.