Born in Crisis, Driven by Hope

The YASID Origin Story

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The Inception (Early 2020)

In early 2020, a group of young leaders in Cox’s Bazar saw a gap in how local youth were engaged in sustainable development. They envisioned a world that was peaceful, safe, and poverty-free. Thus, the Youth Alliance for Sustainable International Development (YASID) was born.

Just one and a half months after YASID was officially formed, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Bangladesh. National lockdowns were announced, legal formalities were incomplete, and funds were nearly non-existent. While most new organizations might have closed their doors, YASID’s youth volunteers saw an urgent call to action.

The Pandemic Pivot

From Development to Emergency Relief When the economy shut down, the middle and low-income families in Cox’s Bazar and the Rohingya camps faced immediate hunger. YASID shifted its entire focus to Emergency Response.

  • Food Security: Volunteers braved the lockdown to distribute cooked meals and dried food packages to those most affected by the economic halt.

  • Health & Hygiene: We provided medical support and hygiene kits to help curb the spread of the virus in high-density areas.

  • Climate & Crisis: During this same year, we conducted a grueling 2-day relief operation on Kutubdia Island to support communities hit by climate-related disasters alongside the pandemic.

Healing through Creativity

Music and Art in the Hardest Times Even during a pandemic, YASID recognized that mental health was a secondary crisis. We believed that music and art could be tools for peace and recovery.

  • Teaching Peace Through Music: We launched our partnership with Peace Through Music International, training youth to play and teach instruments, helping children channel pandemic-related stress into harmony.

  • The Art Competition: In collaboration with Artolution, we organized an art competition that allowed children and youth to express their emotions and "channel the negative feelings felt in the hard times the pandemic caused us."

A Global Connection

Building Partnerships from Day One Despite the physical distance required by the lockdown, YASID spent 2020 building bridges. We participated in high-level conferences with UN Volunteers (UNV) and collaborated with organizations like Shopnochari and YES Bangladesh.

By the end of 2020, what started as a small group of volunteers had become a recognized youth-led force in Cox's Bazar, proving that youth leadership is most powerful when it is tested by fire.