RDRS Bangladesh is a development organization committed to change through empowering the rural poor. RDRS was established as the Bangladesh field programme of the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation/Department for World Service (LWF/DWS) in February 1972 to provide relief, rehabilitation, and development assistance to the war-affected people in northwest Bangladesh. In 1997, RDRS was localised and registered under the Trust Act as a national NGO in Bangladesh. The organisation is registered with NGO Affairs Bureau in Bangladesh and Microcredit Regulatory Authority, and is governed by a Board of Trustees. It provides development opportunities and services to around 10,126,228 program participants in 30 districts, and work with 406 community-based organizations known as Federations seeking to empower their grassroots members. RDRS maintains a staffing of over 5,000, over 90% of whom are field-based.