My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been supporting PSDI (and it's predecessor IIRD) for more than 15 years. I am a former student of Bill Christensen, it's founder, going back to the '60s, and have since become a lifelong friend and supporter of Bill's efforts to work with the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh. His model is impressive in its comprehensiveness and the integration among the many elements that are aimed at addressing the most basic needs of its target families first and then move them slowly but surely along a path to self-sufficiency. Where it is applied over time, the poverty rates of the "extremely poor" have been reduced by more than 75%. I visited Bill and his team in Bangladesh in February 2016. It was very gratifying to meet his very dedicated team and visit with many families who have benefited and "graduated" to a position of independence through this approach. It is a model that should be replicated wherever the poor are found.