ABSTRACT
Proshika, which was established in 1976, is now the second largest NGO in Bangladesh, working with both the rural and more recently the urban poor. Proshika began as a project of the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO) as part of the national reconstruction effort which took place after the War of Independence in 1971, and Proshika quickly became an independent Bangladeshi organization. Proshika now works with 23,252 informal groups with an average membership of 20 people in 3,415 villages in 26 of Bangladesh’s districts; 11,637 of these are women’s groups.
