Staff Correspondent 

Personal assistance and local small philanthropy initiatives maintain human security and social cohesion in society. Donations - charity, zakat, sadaqa, waqf, educational assistance or humanitarian services - bring immediate changes in the lives of needy people and silently advance the development cycle of society in the long term. 

Just as strong policies and international funds are needed to achieve the SDGs, so are small acts of kindness from the hearts of people. Development is not just a story of big projects; development is a story of the goodwill of people and the power of small donations. 

Dr. Mohammad Millate Mustafa, Senior Advisor at the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center of Saudi Arabia, said these things in the keynote speech of the seminar on  “The Invisible Hand of Development: Recognizing the Hidden Role of Small-Scale Philanthropy in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought (BIIT).

In his welcome address at the seminar held at BIIT Auditorium in Uttara, Dhaka on Saturday  BIIT Director General Prof. Dr. M. Abdul Aziz said, "Small, invisible charitable activities are a silent and invisible force in advancing the development journey of Bangladesh.

 Recognizing and institutionalizing this force is the need of the hour. The initiatives of government and private Islamic NGOs must be coordinated to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. He pledged to continue the discussion program on how charitable work is making an important contribution to social development and achieving the SDGs in the future and to conduct research on the role of Islamic NGOs."

Dr. Mohammad Millate Mustafa said, a father pays the school fees of his neighbor's child according to his ability, someone buys a light to light the street in his village, an expatriate relative helps a few families once a year - these initiatives are not reported in the news, they are not captured in reports. Yet these small initiatives are playing a silent but powerful role in achieving the SDGs. Even a small activity can create a multidimensional positive impact on the integrated development of the activities of any other sector. On the one hand, if clean water is provided, health improves, children can go to school regularly and mothers and sisters can save time collecting water and engage in economic activities. If a person fixes the microphone of the local mosque - it not only fulfills a religious need; emergency announcements can also be made; people can be alerted during disasters.

 If a shopkeeper feeds 10 helpless people every Friday or keeps free food boxes for the poor - it reduces the pressure on helpless families. Therefore, small charities need to be made more effective through digital platforms, local leadership, and volunteers, and strengthened through appropriate information technology, transparency, and policy support.

Participating in the panel discussion, Shaykh Ahmadullah, founder of As-Sunnah Foundation and Islamic scholar, said, Islam has spoken about such provisions, teachings and mechanisms 1500 years ago that are consistent with and interrelated with most of the SDGs and are helpful in achieving the goals. Preventing the waste of resources and water and taking care of the environment - these issues are important in Islam. Islamic economics also helps in reducing poverty and achieving sustainable economic growth.

The seminar was attended by Kazi Ahmad Faruk, Head of Operations, Center for Zakat Management (CZM), Farid Uddin Ahmed, former Executive Director, Aranyak Foundation, Dr. Shamsuddin Ahmed, Professor, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Dr. Muhammad Shahab Uddin, Professor, Department of Management, University of Chittagong, and Mahfuzur Rahman Chowdhury, Executive Director, Muslim Aid Bangladesh. Researchers, policy analysts, development workers, and academics.