Montaher Arafat
Student, Volunteer, and Public Speaker in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
I am Montaher Arafat, a social worker and activist from Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh, with a deep commitment to community development. My journey in social work began in 2007 when I volunteered with the Gashful Child Forum established by World Vision Bangladesh. Elected as the General Secretary for the Mohammadpur Area, I focused on child rights, fighting against child marriage and abuse at both local and national levels.
In 2019, I received specialized training in child research from World Vision Bangladesh, leading to research projects on birth registration and child violence in the DNCC area. Subsequently, I joined SERAC Bangladesh as a Volunteer Peer Leader for the USAID Sukhi Jibon Project, where I played a key role in establishing an Adolescence-Friendly Health Center (AFHC) in Hazaribagh. Over 27 months, I led 50 community and school campaigns, reaching around 5000 people with crucial information on nutrition, adolescent changes, menstrual care, and preventing early marriage. Through these campaigns, we promoted SRHR and helped over 1000 adolescents access AFHC services.
In 2023, I founded Youth Action for Development, focusing on SRHR awareness, skill development, and environmental sustainability. We launched the "Shasthyaban Projonon" campaign to provide SRHR information to impoverished families in slums through community campaigns and door-to-door outreach.
I also led a team to assess the quality of care at adolescent-friendly health centers in Hazaribagh and organized a public hearing with officials to address service improvement needs. Additionally, I have worked on preventing sound pollution, youth soft skill training, and awareness through theater and day observations.
From 2021 to 2022, I served as a Child Protection Facilitator with World Vision Bangladesh in Harazibagh. Currently, I am a community leader "Projonon Shasthya Bondhu" under the ISRHRD project of SERAC Bangladesh & IPas Bangladesh.
My work spans numerous NGOs, including World Vision Bangladesh, Plan International, SERAC Bangladesh, Ipas Bangladesh, Global Platform Bangladesh, Action Aid, Caritas Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center