The Asia Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Partnership with Pubali Bank

Dhaka, October 25, 2019 — On October 21 in Dhaka, The Asia Foundation celebrated ten years of partnership with Pubali Bank Limited. The first of the Foundation’s private partnerships in Bangladesh, Pubali Bank’s consistent and dedicated support has been instrumental in enabling Books for Asia to reach an estimated 1.5 million individuals with 375,000 brand new educational books through schools, universities, libraries, and other institutions.

Representatives from Pubali Bank were presented with a plaque and a letter from David Arnold, president of The Asia Foundation, commemorating the milestone.

“As a result of Pubali Bank’s support for shipping costs, local language book purchases, and book donation events, Books for Asia Bangladesh has reached all 64 districts of the country, a tremendous accomplishment,” remarked Arnold.

The Books for Asia program is helping marginalized communities across Asia gain access to information. The program helps local educators and communities to get access to reading, enhance English-language capacity, improve vocational and research skills, develop small business expertise, advance professional knowledge and capacity in critical areas such as education, medicine, law, engineering, and public administration.

Pubali Bank’s support directly helps Books for Asia focus on promoting educational opportunities for girls and women. Books for Asia is actively working with organizations promoting women’s education, girls’ schools, colleges, and madrassas, in order to accelerate the empowerment of women in Bangladesh.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region addresses five overarching goals—strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote regional cooperation.

Read more about the Foundation’s work.

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Related locations: Bangladesh
Related programs: Books for Asia

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Eelynn Sim, Director, Strategy and Programs
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