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Finance Adviser Dr Saleh Uddin Ahmed has pledged to provide financial assistance and vocational training to support self-reliance among members of Shaheed families and the injured beneficiaries of the Social Development Foundation (SDF) who participated in the July-August movement.
He made the commitment on Tuesday while speaking at a ceremony held at the SDF headquarters in Dhaka, where financial aid and grants were provided to the families of martyrs and the injured members of SDF who were involved in the Anti-discrimination Student Movement in July-August 2024.
Dr Saleh Uddin said that the sacrifices and participation of SDF member families demonstrate the solidarity of the student and public uprising during the mass movement of July-August 2024, in which people from all walks of life participated.
A total of seven people from the beneficiary families were martyred in the frontline movement, 16 sustained serious injuries, and 33 others under the World Bank-supported Resilience, Entrepreneurship, and Livelihood Improvement (RELI) Project of SDF were injured during the July-August 2024 protests.
The Adviser presented financial assistance to the families of the seven martyrs, with each family receiving Tk 200,000, to the 16 seriously injured people, each receiving Tk 100,000, and to the 33 others who were injured, each receiving Tk 50,000.
Alongside this financial support, the affected families have been actively engaged in poverty alleviation and livelihood improvement activities at the grassroots level, as part of the project’s objectives.
Presided over by Dr Mohammad Abdul Majid, Chairman of the SDF Board of Directors, former Secretary, and Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the function was attended by Nazma Mubarek, Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, Ministry of Finance, as special guest.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, members of the SDF Board of Directors and Governing Body, journalists, and family members of the martyrs and the injured also attended it.
The Social Development Foundation (SDF), an autonomous, non-profit organisation under the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance, has been operational since 2001.
Its mission remains focused on improving livelihoods, reducing poverty, and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Bangladesh.