RDF is registered with the Department of Social Welfare under the Voluntary Agencies Registration and Control Ordinance 1961 vides Registration no. Com-224/88 dated 9 May 1988 and Foreign Donation (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Rules 1978 vide Registration No. DSS/FDO/R-380 dated 7 May 1990, now administered by NGO Affairs Bureau, Prime Minister’s Office, Government of Bangladesh. RDF registration is renewed by the NGO Affairs Bureau, validity date is until 06 May 2020.
Rural Development Foundation (RDF) is a voluntary non-government and non-political development research organization located in a remote area under Sadar South Upazila of Comilla district. It came into existence on 7th July 1986 in collaboration with some local Philanthropists and social workers with a view to provide services to the underprivileged poor people for their socio-economic cultural upliftment and to establish them in the society.
RDF believes that individuals of the society should get their rightful shares of all sorts of resources from the society and will also be provided facilities for overall development by participating in manifold development activities irrespective of cast, creed, sex or religion. It also aspires for a society free from exploitation, starvation, malnutrition and oppression, where every people will live in justice and harmony. Besides, RDF envisages to establish human rights and justices in the process of its development efforts.
RDF has developed a core team of professional experts who by dint of their devotion and efficiency have been able to gather a wide range of practical experiences in their respective fields particularly in the development research. The affairs of RDF are administrated by an Advisory Board and coordinated by the Executive Director assisted by a number of core professionals .RDF is fully equipped with all sorts of electronic, ICT appliances and logistic facilities.
After a prolong long legal battle RDF now in full swing with it’s development activities under the leadership of it’s Founder Chairman, AKM Aminul Islam along with some renowned educationists and development activists of the country.
The organization is at present staffed by (presently full time volunteers) with Bangladeshi nationals and governed by the general council of 31 general members and Executive Committee of 7 members. RDF’s main intention is to organize the destitute and distressed women into viable groups at the village level aiming to free them from the bondage of dependence and making them self-reliant through human development and skill trainings and initiation of efforts and employment creation activities.
RDF is currently conducting the following research: safe water supply and water safety; community led arsenic mitigation water supply; personal, household and community sanitation and hygiene; environmental health, agricultural and social impacts assessment; climate change adaptation, resilience and its mitigation in coastal, char and urban areas; integrated safe water, hygiene, and institutional capacity development in slums; Pre –school ,safe school based environment and health improvement, basic adult women and children education; risks, impacts and is management related to indoor air pollution in rural and urban areas; women/small entrepreneur , environmental health and disaster risks management capacity among local women, local government and teachers.
RDF’s mission is to strengthening right and dignity of the deprived people and up liftmen of socio-economic status of the under privileged group of the society through awareness raising, education, training and create employment opportunity.
The vision of the organisation is to enhance socio- economic status of the under privileged poor people of the society and also to redress sufferings of the poor through appropriate management/development of water, hygiene, wastes, sanitation, agriculture, forestry, energy, food, disaster risks, education, health, micro credit and social scopes in local, regional and global levels.
The major goal of the RDF is to achieve sustainable increase in living standard of the poor through enabling and empowering them with appropriate skill, confidence and to assist them acquiring necessary economic and social infrastructure and environmental resources to solve their problems.
