“Instead of relying solely on donations or external investors, a profitable business model can be developed to aid others with the generated profit.” – Rijve Arefin
YSSE: Who is your inspiration?
Rijve Arefin: My inspiration is all those strong, independent women, especially those from rural areas, who fight in every sphere of life.
YSSE: Why did Social Entrepreneurship click with you?
Rijve Arefin: I don’t know if it was accidental, but I did not want to pursue it as a career. But I pursued my passion and found it impactful beyond Bangladesh. Eventually, I embraced it as my future career, working with the United Nations and Commonwealth. Social business in the development space is where I thrive and see a promising future.
YSSE: How did the name ‘Awareness 360’ come about?
Rijve Arefin: I coined the name myself. Our mission is to raise awareness in rural areas about various important topics like handwashing, menstrual hygiene, quality education, youth empowerment, gender equality, and gender equity. The name reflects our goal of creating a global impact, encompassing a 360° movement to let people instantly know what we do.
YSSE: Other than Awareness 360, what other organizations are you associated with?
Rijve Arefin: I actively work with UNDP as a Youth Leader. I have worked as an advisor with the United Nations Global Impact on Target Gender Equality, with Commonwealth Youth Programmes, and with CIVICUS in South Africa as a Youth Development Practitioner. I am associated with all of these.
YSSE: Social projects are looked down upon as charity. What’s your view?
Rijve Arefin: Charity is often perceived negatively, but it can also be positive, like offering a smile to a sad person. Moving towards self-sustainability is crucial. Instead of relying solely on donations or external investors, a profitable business model can be developed to cover operational costs, pay staff salaries, and aid others with the generated profit. Embracing innovative ideas for sustainability helps to reshape our perception of charity.
YSSE: Can you tell us about some special projects that you conducted for women?
Rijve Arefin: Bangladesh is the only Muslim country in the world where prostitution is legal. Even then, there are no government-regulated rules for them. Unregulated sex work traps girls aged 10–16, who face danger from criminals daily.
To break the cycle, we’ll establish a preschool for the sex workers’ community, providing training and quality education from childhood. This will enable them to reintegrate into society, as they are currently excluded from normal schools, hospitals, and even mixing with other children. We are currently raising funds and running a campaign for this initiative.
Apart from that, we are taking action in the Rohingya Refugee community of Teknaf, particularly Shahporir Dweep, which has been neglected since the 1980s. We’re building toilets and raising funds for tubewells due to the area’s saline water. Fishing, their main income source from the Naf River, has been banned by the government. To create income opportunities, especially for young girls and women, we’ve provided sewing machines. Additionally, we have gotten permission from the local government to establish a computer lab for teaching transferable soft skills.
Again in Zimbabwe, we’re focused on quality education and have provided funding and books for girls’ education throughout the entire year in a specific school. In Malaysia, we focus on providing basic needs and quality education to orphans in various orphanages.
In Cameroon, a significant issue is female genital mutilation, done culturally to oppress girls. We are running a campaign against that. In Pakistan, we are doing a menstrual hygiene campaign.
In Afghanistan, a country with severe gender inequality, our small group operates clandestine Fellowship Programs through online Zoom meetings. We run our campaigns and projects in more than 40 countries, prioritizing young women and girls in all cases.
YSSE: How do you manage your time?
Rijve Arefin: Time management is a major challenge for me. Juggling different time zones is exhausting at times, but it has become a practice given my 9 years of experience in this field. I wouldn’t say I have the expertise to manage time, but I set my priorities.
YSSE: How do you manage to coordinate campaigns in more than 40 countries?
Rijve Arefin: Despite the impossibility of visiting everywhere physically, Awareness 360 relies on a dedicated global team of over 20,000 volunteers and fellows across various countries in Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. Our core team is global, with full-time employees from the UK, Japan, Malaysia, and other places handling the dynamic operations of the organization. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, Awareness 360 has directly impacted more than 2.1 million people worldwide. The success is attributed not only to the founders but to all the individuals who have contributed their efforts to make it possible.
YSSE: How has the social acceptance of Awareness 360 been Pre-Covid vs. Post-Covid?
Rijve Arefin: Well, that’s an interesting question. Before COVID, Awareness 360 faced limited acceptance despite focusing on youth empowerment. People didn’t take us seriously until the pandemic highlighted the significance of proper hygiene. We ran campaigns even during the lockdown, providing essentials like soap and menstrual hygiene kits to the slums, especially the Mymensingh brothel. We started this organization very locally, and now it’s going global. Post-COVID, we even made it to Forbes magazine, and people started acknowledging our work. Recently, we collaborated with Uniqlo, which featured our work in all their outlets worldwide. Our dedication and enthusiasm remain the same but definitely, social acceptance has increased.
YSSE: How were you feeling after getting enlisted in the Forbes 30 Under 30?
Rijve Arefin: See, in Bangladesh, it has become the norm for a co-founder to nominate his partner, but we are a Malaysia-based organization. We have been working with UNDP Asia Pacific for a long time, and they nominated us without our prior knowledge. At some point, Forbes shortlisted us and called us for an interview. Later, when they sent photographers to take official photos, we felt like, Wow, it’s happening!
We are the only people in Asia under the Social Impact Category who got featured on the cover of Forbes magazine.
YSSE: Please tell us about ‘Veggies R Us’ and the story of getting the funding.
Rijve Arefin: Veggies R Us is an AI-driven, smart hydroponic vertical farming startup that enables busy urban dwellers to grow their food easily. After developing the prototype, we plan to launch it commercially within a few months.
While in Dubai with a small team, the idea came to us. I worked tirelessly for days without rest, leading to chest pain. Ignoring it at first, the pain persisted, and I sought medical help. They found the possibility of a heart attack due to extreme stress, a lack of proper rest, and poor nutrition. I was urgently rushed to the hospital, and I was released just in time to attend the investor’s pitching session the next day. Alhamdulillah, we got the funding.
YSSE: Please tell us about your transition from being The Diana Award Recipient to now being the Judge.
Rijve Arefin: Being awarded was a moment of immense happiness and recognition. Becoming a judge brought a sense of responsibility and a realization of shared community goals. For example, A staff member from Awareness 360 in Yemen got The Diana Award this year. She is a doctor working for her community amidst the ongoing war. Reading the success stories of these young achievers amazes me, and I constantly strive to learn something new every day, even from small things like taking a rickshaw to work or ordering coffee. I enjoy the process of learning.
YSSE: What would be the title of your autobiography?
Rijve Arefin: Success is often glorified, but we never celebrate our failures. Currently, I’m writing a book, halfway through, entirely dedicated to failures. So, I think the name of the book would be “The Joy of Failures”.
YSSE: What would be your message to the young people out there?
Rijve Arefin: I do everything that I am passionate about. I feel grateful if anyone is influenced by my work. Young people across the world are very driven these days. I rather feel impacted and influenced by them. I ain’t sure of the extent of my impact on them, but I do my best to make a positive difference in their lives.
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Writer,
Razna Rahman
Intern,
Content Writing Department,
YSSE.