Freedom From Want: The Remarkable Success Story of BRAC, the Global Grassroots Organization That's Winning the Fight Against Poverty

Very well written but a long read with lots of detail. This book contains insider scenarios and information that only someone like Ian Smillie would be privy to as a non-profit worker. If you are interested in how non-profit foundations and enterprises can be efficiently managed then this is a must-read. The author describes the true meaning of "Freedom from Want" in poor countries. The concepts presented can be utilized in all countries because there are struggling people everywhere.

These are the words of Fazle Hasan Abed, an extraordinary and authentic leader who has transformed the lives of millions of people through meticulous `experiments' that have grown into highly scalable solutions to poverty. If you've never heard of Abed, that's precisely the reason for his success - he has built an organization without political interests on the world stage, with the sole motivation of tackling poverty at its root. It's an extraordinary journey.Considering the complexity of the organization, Ian Smillie has presented the story in a both easy-to-read and thorough way (he has plenty of experience in development and has typically been critical of western NGOs). If you're interested in microfinance, you'll learn how BRAC has managed to reach the poorest of the poorest, people that no other NGO (including Yunus' Grameen) could reach. If you're interested in health, you'll be captivated by BRAC's efforts to eradicate Tuberculosis (the cure rate in Bangladesh is now 90%). If you're interested in education, you'll see how BRAC has managed to salvage the education of thousands of young children who've fallen out of the public school system. This is all managed by one man, one organization, and to scale.Most encouraging is the fact that Abed is now taking BRAC beyond Bangladesh. In Afghanistan they were the first microfinance organization to thrive, and have paved the way for others to enter. They are now also engaged in Africa. The secret to their success in such destitute and often war-torn countries, as Smillie explains, is that "BRAC's modus operandi is very different from that of most Western NGOs. It isn't part of the standard expatriate community...BRAC's Kabul office is not in the best part of town; and beyond Kabul, most staff live at or near one of BRAC's 247 offices. One result of all this is that the organization is not well known or understood amongst other international aid workers. But if they were going to succeed, this is the way it had to be done: they had to be in the village, and of the village; they had to be able to go to the homes of the people they wanted to reach."

As President of Kiva.org, I read "Freedom From Want" to better understand the details behind BRAC. In 2007, I had a chance to visit BRAC's new program in Uganda and was incredibly impressed with their efficiency and integrated development approach. The visit was brief, but it left me curious about how this well-reputed organization ticks. Luckily, "Freedom From Want" delivers. It helped me understand not only the personal story of an incredible founder, but it chronicles the several phase development of the world's largest NGO in a way that's helpful to leaders of much younger social enterprises, like Kiva. BRAC is impressive not because it has scaled, but because it is constantly evaluating, tweaking and seeking to address root cause issues. Highly recommended for anyone interested in international development or social entrepreneurship. If you like books like Half The Sky (Kristof / WuDunn), Banker to the Poor (Yunus) and The End of Poverty (Sachs), then this is a must read.

Amazing book by an amazing author! Finally a success story in international development!

Freedom From Want: The Remarkable Success Story of BRAC, the Global Grassroots Organization That's Winning the Fight Against Poverty Freedom From Want is an amazing adventure story that starts with a fight for freedom and the fight to help a country survive a devastating cyclone. Then, BRAC founder Fazle Hasan Abed takes relief a step further, joining the fight against poverty by using a unique combination of ingenuity and social entrepreneurship to enable people to empower themselves to climb out of poverty.The book is an insightful look into how a good idea and some perseverance can be cultivated into the largest anti-poverty organizations in the world. Listen to what the likes of Bill Clinton, Amartya Sen and Pierre Omidyar are saying - this is a great read about an amazing organization that many have probably never heard of!

Freedom from Want is the most in-depth book about BRAC that has been written in many years. It gives a useful background of the historical context in which the organization was founded. It also gives a cogent explanation of 2 important aspects of the organization's success:(1) how BRAC is much more than microfinance, and (2) how its development/creation of every step along the production/marketing chain of a new profit-making enterprises.I have heard many people speak of BRAC as a paradigm of successful development work, and anyone interested in such work would find something interesting/beneficial in this book.

Recently there has been a lot criticism regarding development work. In most cases it was probably justified. This book highlights this problem as well. Fortunately there is much more to it. It is a story of Brac, a charity set up by Bangladeshis themselves. Even though most people have never heard of it, Brac is probably the largest NGO on the planet. What's more important, though, it is also one of the most effective ones. If you are interested in development this book is a must.

Honestly discusses the failures and the attempts to learn from them as well as the successes of this development group. The history is exciting and a great learning experience to read. Community development students and theorists and groups dedicated to improving the skills and opportunities of very poor people around the world will find this a very interesting book.

Amazing book!

The book is an extremely interesting and inspiring read. Highly recommended for anyone in development or business at the "bottom of the pyramid".