Emran-ul-Haq is the president of Kathalganj Samaj Kalyan Parishad, a human rights’ based organisation established in 1985 in Chittagong. It has played a significant role in making the Sholukgahar area a ‘healthy city area’ and a model of development for the city of Chittagong.

Emranbhai and his colleagues know everyone in the area and keep track of the individuals and families living here. Their goal of developing their community into a prosperous and peaceful neighborhood is shared by everyone. The motivation for this collective mission is simply care and concern for the welfare of the community members. Emranbhai says, “Allah has given me everything, Inshallah, so I want to give back to my community. Some day along with my community members I hope to improve the state of our country.”

His organisation has grown in strength and in mission -- going beyond political differences as is apparent in the fact that some of the key members of this organisation belong to the opposition party. Coincidently one of the families that he helped mediate was suffering violence due to political reasons! A couple was fighting because they both belonged to opposite political parties. The husband wanted the wife to stop supporting her party and vice versa.

His group has worked with several families and individuals helping them with marital disputes, child care, and education as well as to raise awareness about human rights and women’s rights. He hopes to expand the ‘We Can’ campaign and target not only couples but children and young adults as well.

“Nobody likes to quarrel” says Emranbhai. He believes,“Everyone wants to live peacefully, and it is only circumstances that push them to the edge. It is hard enough to make a decent living and care for a family. If you also have an unstable and violent situation at home, it only aggravates the situation and helps nobody. The children are affected, and the women are obviously affected more. I find that the main reason of violence at the family level is poverty. But we can’t hand out money or food to everyone, so the only way is to educate and motivate people to understand violence and its consequences.”