The folks from BRAC informed me about an inspiring, tell-all book about their evolution of that is coming out this April. The book is called ' Freedom from Want' , available to pre-order through Amazon and looks quite interesting.
BRAC is an anti-poverty organizations Bangladeshi organization and well known most Bangaldeshis. They do some amazing work on the grassroots level in Bangladesh in their efforts to eradicate poverty and encourage traditional craftsmanship as a means of income for women living below poverty line. Unlike the Nobel Prize winning Grameen Bank, the microcredit giant, its cousin BRAC is barely known outside the country. Even in Bangladesh the extent of BRAC's work is most commonly noted through its shop AARONG that sells traditional Bangladeshi ware through sponsorship of craftsmen/women. Their products are available here though the Ten Thousand Villages.

Author Ian Smillie of Freedom From Want predicts the spread of BRAC's work dwarfs any other private, government or non-profit enterprise in its impact on development, on women, on children and on thousands of communities in Asia and Africa. I had only heard of BRAC's work in Bangladesh, so I would be quite interested to know how its spread to Africa!

Excerpt from Amazon:
Freedom From Want traces BRAC’s evolution from a small relief operation indistinguishable from hundreds of others, into what is undoubtedly the largest and most variegated social experiment in the developing world. BRAC’s story shows how social enterprise can trump corruption and how purpose, innovation and clear thinking can overcome the most entrenched injustices that society can offer. It is a story that ranges from distant villages in Bangladesh to New York’s financial district on 9/11, from war-torn Afghanistan to the vast plains of East Africa and the ruins of Southern Sudan. Partly an adventure story, partly a lesson in development economics, partly an examination of excellence in management, the book describes one of the world’s most remarkable success stories, one that has transformed disaster into development and despair into hope.

In the words of its author Ian Smillie, “The book is about social enterprise – not neat ideas that can never be replicated. It is about inspired innovations in health, education, agriculture and income generation that contribute to lasting change for tens and hundreds of thousands of people. It is about individuals who see challenge where others see only hopelessness, people who see opportunity where others see peril.”