The starting point of the Building Resilience Development Organization (BRDO) was marked by a vision shared by a group of experienced and dedicated professionals who had long worked in the humanitarian and development sectors, particularly within the United Nations (UN) and various International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs). These individuals had witnessed firsthand the challenges facing vulnerable communities in Sudan, particularly in the eastern region.
They recognized that while there were many efforts to address poverty, food insecurity, and climate change, the solutions being implemented were often disconnected from the needs and realities of the communities themselves. This realization sparked the idea to create an organization that would work differently—one that would focus on community-driven development and building resilience from the ground up.
The founders of BRDO came together with a shared understanding of the importance of local knowledge and the power of grassroots action. Having spent years working with both international organizations and local communities, they knew that sustainable development could not be imposed from the outside; it had to come from within the communities themselves.
This conviction became the foundation of BRDO’s mission: to empower vulnerable communities to become active agents in their own development, by equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to improve their livelihoods and build resilience to external shocks, such as poverty and climate change.
The Conception for BRDO took shape in 2017, during a period when Sudan was facing multiple intersecting crises. Climate change was having a devastating impact on the country’s agricultural sector, leading to food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, and increasing vulnerability in rural areas. At the same time, political and economic instability compounded these challenges, particularly for marginalized communities in eastern Sudan, which had long suffered from underdevelopment and neglect.