Bangladesh: ICITAP Support U.S. Mission Efforts to Protect Community During COVID-19

On June 8, the ICITAP-Bangladesh mission provided an update on ICITAP’s support of the U.S. mission’s efforts to protect local community during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Team Bangladesh wanted to do its part to help the internal Mission and external community increase its safety during the pandemic.  We located an independent coordinator and founder of a small garment “factory” employing women micro entrepreneurs who now are working at home.  The workers are all home taking care of families and have little means of income due to most, if not all, of the family being unemployed due to the COVID 19 outbreak.   This partnership allows workers practicing social distancing to produce masks for use by the Embassy’s personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This unique partnership helps keep staff safe while the workers are safe.  The mask is an innovative, low-cost, eco-friendly product made from garment waste thus using no new resources other than labor by the women entrepreneurs.  This not-for-profit social initiative was created by a participant in the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Exchange program who heads several entrepreneurial efforts promoting green industry microbusiness opportunities for underserved groups in Bangladesh.  To date, Team Bangladesh has handed out over 1400 masks to several different groups.  Examples include the U.S. Ambassador, Marine Security team, several community members, an orphanage, and low-income areas of Dhaka.  This initiative has also resulted additional orders from the RSO’s and Medical units.  This effort was entirely funded by Team Bangladesh individual efforts.”