PROJECT KOMBOL

It was late February, 2013. Winter had just about passed. Statistics about how cold waves had killed hundreds were all over the place. We at Garbo Bangladesh Foundation, were discussing what we are doing, where we are heading as an organisation, how we are going to get there. We had started operations earlier this year with a simple dream: to work towards a discrimination-free Bangladesh.
Fortunately we had friends who also shared the same vision.
Belfry Activists for Nations Development & Human Unison (BANDHU) is a charitable youth organisation formed around 2001 with the aim of carrying out youth-driven development work.
On 26th of March, 2013, two organisations, small in their own rights, decided to undertake a nearly impossible task of setting up a platform to coordinate winter clothing distribution in Bangladesh, and thus 'Project Kombol' was born. The project addresses two major problems associated with winter clothing distribution: lack of a proper distribution network outside Dhaka, and overlap in distribution resulting from lack of coordination between clothing drive teams.  
Every winter, Bangladesh is hit with cold waves, especially in the northern areas. In response to this crisis, various government, non-government and youth organisations carry out winter clothing drives, but due to a lack of sufficient preparation, majority of them distribute their clothes within Dhaka city. Those who do manage to go outside Dhaka have to go to the same places year after year due to lack of network elsewhere, and in the process the most vulnerable and needy in the remote areas are deprived of the help they require. Moreover, there is a lack of coordination between the clothing drive teams who go outside Dhaka, and it is not uncommon to see several teams distributing in the same area while neighbouring areas are left out.
We recognised the need for a collective effort to counter these problems. The process started with forming a network of 17 well-established local NGOs in 25 districts where the lowest temperature was between 3-5 degrees Celsius last year. Armed with local knowledge, these NGOs help identify vulnerable individuals and communities who suffer the most during severe cold waves in their respective areas. When a clothing drive team arrives from Dhaka or elsewhere, the local NGO selects beneficiaries and helps the clothing drive team distribute among the truly needy people. To prevent overlap, the local NGOs in the Project Kombol network are coordinating winter clothing distribution at the local level with other organisations and key figures in their area.
Five schools, 20 volunteer organisations, and 2 corporate firms in Dhaka, each of whom have their own clothing drives every year, have committed to distribute through Project Kombol's network this year, and others are joining their rank every day. The Project Kombol team is conducting its own clothing drive as well. With the help of local NGOs, we distribute in particularly remote areas where other clothing drive teams are unwilling to visit. Our first remote area trip took place on 16th of December in Harichondi Gram and Anondobari Char in the Gaibandha district, where 400 blankets were distributed with the help of Gono Unnayan Sangstha (GUS), a local NGO.
While local NGOs facilitate the clothing distribution process, and make all arrangements for distribution, clothing drive teams raise funds and relief from Dhaka and elsewhere. The whole country has started to come together in a collaborative effort to help the worst victims of cold waves.

Shagufe Hossain is Chief Operations Officer and Director, Garbo Bangladesh Foundation.