Origin

Community Development and Health Care Centre, acronym “CDHC” has been working in right based participatory approach in the Patuakhali district in Bangladesh. It is a non-government, non-profit, non-political and voluntary development organization was established in 1997 for promoting socio-economic status of the least opportunist, river erosion and the vulnerable people in the society.

Patuakhali, contiguous to the Bay of Bengal, is one of the underdeveloped districts of Bangladesh. People of this region could not be integrated with the mainstream of development as modern infrastructure for rapid communication yet to develop. They, specially living in the offshore char islands of the of costal belts, are very often inflicted by various natural calamities like cyclones, flash flood, and river erosion which make them homeless and landless, causing easily vulnerable to the vicious cycle of the poverty.

As a result, they rush to the city centers and urban areas where they face innumerable problems, engage them to sub-humane and health hazardous jobs. Realizing the grim situation of pervading poverty, vulnerability of climate changes and evil effect of migration from rural to urban areas; a group of development professionals, social workers, medical doctors, academics and NGO activists came forward to establish CDHC to enable peoples in realizing their rights to education, health and social services through organizing them in groups, creating income generating activities, facilitate access to basic services devising innovative ideas/methods and also raise their voices together for fighting against poverty and social injustice.