Hope Over Fate

Fazle Hasan Abed and the Science of Ending Global Poverty

Scott MacMillan

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Hardback

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English

Rowman & Littlefield
01 August 2022

Poverty & unemployment; Homelessness

"Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times called him ""one of the unsung heroes of modern times."" Fazle Hasan Abed was a mild-mannered accountant who may be the most influential man most people have never even heard of. As the founder of BRAC, his work had a profound impact on the lives of millions. A former finance executive with almost no experience in relief aid, he founded BRAC, originally the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, in 1972, aiming to help a few thousand war refugees. A half century later, BRAC is by many measures the largest nongovernmental organization in the world--and by many accounts, the most effective anti-poverty program ever. BRAC seems to stand apart from countless failed development ventures. Its scale is massive, with 100,000 employees reaching more than 100 million people in Asia and Africa. In Bangladesh, where it began, Abed's work gave rise to ""some of the biggest gains in the basic condition of people's lives ever seen anywhere,"" according to The Economist. His methods changed the way global policymakers think about poverty. By the time of his death at eighty-three in December 2019, he was revered in international development circles. Yet among the wider public he remained largely unknown. His story has never been told--until now. Abed avoided the limelight. He thought his own story was of little consequence compared to the millions of women who rose from poverty with BRAC's help, bending the arc of history through their own tenacity and grit. The challenges he faced often seemed insurmountable. Abed's personal life was a tapestry of love and grief--a lover's suicide, a wife who died in his arms. He was a taciturn man with a short temper that erupted on rare occasions. Many of his ventures failed, but Abed persevered. This book is also the biography of an idea--the idea that hope itself has the power to overcome poverty. ""For too long, people thought poverty was something ordained by a higher power, as immutable as the sun and the moon,"" Abed wrote in 2018. His life's mission was to put that myth to rest. This is the story of a man who lived a life of complexity, blemishes and all, driven by the conviction that in the dominion of human lives, hope will ultimately triumph over fate."

By: Scott MacMillan
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 238mm, Width: 159mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 594g
ISBN: 9781538164921
ISBN 10: 1538164922
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 01 August 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Scott MacMillan is the director of learning and innovation at BRAC USA, an affiliate organization of BRAC, where he has worked since 2011. A former journalist, he served as the speechwriter of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of BRAC, prior to Abed's death in 2019. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and daughter, along with a cat, dog, and four horses.

Reviews for Hope Over Fate: Fazle Hasan Abed and the Science of Ending Global Poverty

MacMillan will move readers with this biography of Fazle Hassan Abed and BRAC, the charitable action organization originally known as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, which Abed founded. As an accountant with a love of language and the arts, Abed became a revolutionary philanthropist after seeing the devastation in the newly formed Bangladesh. Abed, who died in 2019, assisted hundreds of thousands of people through BRAC, eventually expanding the charity to provide aid to a dozen countries in Africa and Asia. MacMillan, an executive with BRAC USA and former speechwriter for Abed, elegantly weaves the inspiring story of BRAC with the tragedy of Abed's personal struggles, creating a compelling picture of a complicated man. Abed's story is undoubtedly an uplifting one, and the author clearly idolizes his subject, which, combined with his talented writing, offers much hope to be found here.-- Booklist