July Shaheed Smrity Foundation’s battle for survival

Employees of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation have not received their salaries for five months, nor did they receive an Eid bonus. The office rent for their Shahbagh premises in the capital has fallen into arrears by Tk2.4 million for the past 12 months. With no funds left in the operational or recurring expense pool, day-to-day operations have become increasingly difficult to sustain.

The very organisation tasked with providing financial aid, medical care, and rehabilitation support to the families of those martyred and injured in the July Uprising is now facing an existential crisis.

To ensure staff did not return home entirely empty-handed before the recent Eid-ul-Azha, the foundation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Kamal Akbar, personally provided an interest-free loan of Tk1 million to the foundation.

According to foundation sources, the Local Government Division had allocated Tk30 million in the 2024–25 financial year for salaries, administrative overheads, office rent, vehicle purchases and rentals, fuel, travel expenses, furniture, and other ancillary costs. That allocation managed to stretch across two financial years.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, CEO Kamal Akbar said, “When repeated entreaties to the relevant ministry yielded nothing, I provided the loan myself. The foundation will repay it when it is able to do so. I myself have not drawn a salary for several months.”

The July Foundation was registered under the NGO Affairs Bureau and the Department of Social Services in September 2024. It currently employs 39 staff members.

Many disheartened employees are now taking unpaid leave; some are no longer reporting to the office regularly, while others have resigned altogether. Several employees spoke of suffering severe hardship due to unpaid wages.

On 28 June, Nahid Islam, Chief Whip of the Opposition in Parliament and Convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), stated in Parliament that the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation was failing to function due to a lack of funds. He urged the government to allocate funding for the organisation.

Prior to this, on 9 June, the foundation’s CEO submitted a written application to the Chief Whip of the Opposition outlining the organisation’s overall plight. Earlier, during a press conference, he highlighted the severe financial crunch and called upon all members of parliament to donate one month’s salary to the foundation.

Furthermore, the CEO stated that to keep the foundation operational, a permanent annual allocation of at least Tk100 million for recurring expenditure is required from the government.

Simultaneously, separate funding is essential for long-term initiatives such as preserving the memory of the mass uprising, maintaining a digital archive, and conducting rehabilitation work, he added.

The foundation launched on 17 September 2024 with a grant of Tk1 billion from the Relief and Welfare Fund of the Interim Government’s Chief Adviser. At the time, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser, served as the foundation’s Chairman.

On that day, the government announced via a press conference that its commitment to look after the families of the July Uprising martyrs would be administered through this foundation.

According to the foundation’s latest accounts, out of a total fund of Tk1.24 billion (which includes donations received from other individuals and institutions), only Tk38.5 million remains. At present, 843 martyrs are officially gazetted by the government, alongside 14,370 injured fighters.

The foundation’s CEO mentioned that Tk3.83 billion was required to assist the martyrs’ families and the injured, whereas only Tk1 billion had been provided. An additional Tk2.63 billion is now required to support them.

He further said that so far, the foundation has disbursed a total of Tk1.2 billion as emergency financial assistance, including approximately Tk420 million to 831 martyrs’ families (at Tk500,000 per family) and Tk780 million to 6,127 injured individuals.

Despite the severe financial strain, CEO Kamal Akbar does not believe the foundation will abruptly shut down. He noted that it was formed with official government approval. The interim government has also allocated nearly four katha of land in the capital’s Bijoynagar area. Once a permanent building is constructed there and the government provides appropriate funding, no further complications should remain.

The foundation reported that 150 families have been brought under its rehabilitation umbrella. In coordination with various non-governmental organisations, it has rehabilitated 27 families across different districts at a cost of Tk4.1 million.

For rehabilitation purposes, it has collected, reviewed, and archived data on 4,938 martyrs’ families and injured individuals. Similarly, no funds have been allocated to the foundation for preserving the memory of the mass uprising.

From the outset, the foundation has been verifying identities and building a database for the martyrs and the injured. It is also involved in identifying unknown martyrs and files legal cases whenever fraudulent claims for aid are detected. Additionally, it has begun digitally archiving financial assistance requests and other applications.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, former adviser to the interim government and current President of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation, told Prothom Alo that despite the financial crisis, there is no doubt about the foundation’s survival.

She stated that it is a government-approved entity, and an application for necessary funding has been submitted to the government, which is reviewing the matter positively.