Awareness 360
Bangladeshi-founded global youth volunteer platform, launched in 2014 after a founder's personal loss, now running community-service programs in over 20 countries.
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- Established
- 2014-10
- Country
- Bangladesh
- Founders
- Shomy Hasan Chowdhury and Rijve Arefin
- Founding trigger
- Chowdhury's mother died of diarrhea in April 2014, prompting the group's first water-and-sanitation campaign
- Scale (as reported)
- More than 1,500 volunteers aged 16-27 from 23 countries
- Recognition
- Recognized by The Diana Award, Global Citizen, UNDP, the US State Department, and The Commonwealth Students' Association
- Operational base (per source, distinct from country of founding)
- Described in the source as "Based in Malaysia" operationally, separate from its October 2014 founding in Bangladesh
Overview
Awareness 360 is a youth volunteer platform founded in Bangladesh in October 2014 by Shomy Hasan Chowdhury and Rijve Arefin. Chowdhury’s mother died of diarrhea in April 2014, prompting the pair to launch a water-and-sanitation campaign; Arefin’s focus extended the group’s work into education and mental health. The organization aims to “pave the way of change-making for young people,” training and resourcing volunteers to run community-service projects aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (The Business Standard).
Scale and programs
As of this reporting, the organization counted more than 1,500 volunteers aged 16 to 27 across 23 countries, with teams working on education in Zimbabwe, human rights in Georgia, mental health in France, and clean-water and sanitation work in Bangladesh. During the COVID-19 pandemic, its Bangladesh team provided food to 450 sex workers’ families. The organization has been recognized by The Diana Award, Global Citizen, UNDP, the US State Department, and The Commonwealth Students’ Association (The Business Standard).
Separately from its October 2014 founding in Bangladesh, the same source describes the platform as operationally “Based in Malaysia” (The Business Standard). This profile reports both details as the source states them rather than treating one as superseding the other.
What this profile does not claim
This profile relies on a single independent source; the organization’s own claimed volunteer counts, country reach, and award recognitions are reported here as stated in that article rather than independently re-verified against each awarding body.
Timeline
- 2014-10
- Shomy Hasan Chowdhury and Rijve Arefin found Awareness 360, months after Chowdhury's mother's death from diarrhea prompts a water and sanitation-focused campaign in Bangladesh; Arefin separately focuses on education and mental-health initiatives.
- 2020
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization's Bangladesh team provides food to 450 sex workers' families as part of its clean-water and community-support work.
Sources
1 source (1 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
The Business Standard article was fetched and read in full. The Business Standard is an independent Bangladeshi English-language business newspaper, unaffiliated with Awareness 360.
- Awareness 360: A Bangladeshi youth platform changing lives around the world Supports: The organization's October 2014 founding, its founders and the personal story behind it, its volunteer scale, geographic reach, the 2020 food-assistance program, and its recognition from external award bodies.
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