Protigga Foundation started its official journey in 2018, three years after the idea was first conceived. Their aim was simple — to help distressed people in disadvantaged positions and living in substandard conditions. Their main focus is to work on women's menstrual health issues, family planning matters, providing women with different fundamental life skills, and imparting gender education. They also work with volunteers from different schools around the city to spread valuable message around.

Protigga Foundation envisions a world where poverty is entirely rid of. A world where people have the freedom to choose and influence their decisions directly without any worry. They want everyone to enjoy life, exercise their rights, and assume their responsibilities — a world where they are dignified equally. The Foundation plans to do this by uplifting disadvantaged people and empowering them, especially women and children, helping them develop their skills and strengthening their rights.

Razia Rahman, the founder and chairperson, has unbridled passion that drove her to start Protigga Foundation to help impoverished and underprivileged people in Bangladesh. She has previously worked as an independent consultant with organisations like UNICEF, UNFPA, CWFD, and the Department of Women Affairs, Bangladesh.

"I found my passion and purpose in life by helping those less privileged than myself. Disadvantaged women and children in Bangladesh need support from a legal entity so I try to help them overcome problems they face daily," expressed Rahman.

Photo: Protigga Foundation

Protigga Foundation has made many breakthroughs in the previous years with their focus mainly on arranging workshops, doing volunteering projects with women and children, and distribution of basic needs. Their workshops focus on different issues such as women's health, including menstrual hygiene management and family planning, raising awareness and ending child marriages in Bangladesh, teaching children essential life skills and working on gender diversity.

Their volunteering projects include campaigns against child abuse and parental awareness programmes. They even conducted projects to teach parents and their children about life and growing up in the digital age, educating both parties about the advancements and the pros and cons of technology.

Photo: Protigga Foundation

Pursuing future prospects, Protigga Foundation and Razia Rahman have many aspirations, including broadening their horizon to all 64 districts of Bangladesh where they can work on women's health issues, especially with women cleaners, advising them on menstrual health, family planning and even mental health counselling. They plan to set up satellite clinics in rural areas to give more people access to better healthcare and counselling sessions.