New Coalitions for the Planet : Runa Khan, founder of Friendship

Runa Khan is the founder of Friendship, a social purpose organisation established in Bangladesh in 2002 and widely recognised for its holistic work with the country’s most remote and climate-vulnerable communities. Her integrated development system brings together people, environment and biodiversity through healthcare, education, livelihoods, climate adaptation and dignity — not as separate sectors, but as one living system. In 2025, Friendship’s long-standing work received international recognition through the Earthshot Prize.

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Anastasiia Lutcenko (AL): You founded Friendship in 2002. What personal experience first made you feel that this work was necessary?

Runa Khan (RK): I was born privileged, one of the oldest families in the country, and I had never really seen poverty. Like so many of us, I was brought up in a kind of glass bubble. You see beggars in certain areas, you see people who are poor, slum dwellers, people working, but never going deep inside someone’s home whilst they strive to live. Struggling for self-respect, yet having poverty of the spirit, that is something else. That, I had never seen. One sees it rarely.

I felt people can live in poverty, but they cannot live without dignity, opportunity, and hope. That is what I felt when I first went and saw lives of the climate migrants, (IDPs, as they are called), in the most remote areas of Bangladesh. Impacted by the geography, climate, and poverty, in a harshest way one could think of.  

At that time, I did not even realise that their situation was mainly due to climate change. 24 years ago, people did not speak much about changing climate creating climate migrants. Thus, I simply could not understand why those who could help were doing nothing in these remote areas. Then I realized it was because the situation and the area was so difficult to work in, it was exceedingly difficult to do so. These communities were always moving. You bring them something for two days, then they move, and the project is over.

I remember standing there and crying. First, it was sadness. Then it became anger. I was so angry and then the injustice of the society and fate which made us the privileged ones; so different from those lives I was witnessing in the remote chars (nomadic river islands) on the Brahmaputra/ Jumna.

And I thought: what do we do? The injustice of it all, it was a sheer injustice, that we were doing nothing for them. That realization led me to responsibility. And with that realization, I knew that whatever I could do, in my own capacity, I would do.

AL: You began this work before climate action became mainstream. That was a courageous decision, especially as a mother. How did you make that choice?

RK: I did not know what development was. I did not know what an NGO was. I did not know you had to create organizations in order to do this kind of work. I did not know any of that.

And it was dramatic, because I had to completely change my lifestyle, my way of being. I had three sons. I had to raise them. It was a challenge. But life is about decisions and then living with them. My decision was I would be there for my three sons and the work which I could not walk away from- providing a platform for those who had forgotten to hope, to be able to hope again. .

So, from mahjong parties, cocktails, lunches, dinners, I walked out. Literally. I said: what I need to spend my life on are my children and my work. That is where I would be most fulfilled and happy. So, I made that decision, and I started.

AL: Friendship began with the idea of mobile hospital ships. How did that vision emerge, and what challenges did you face in making it real?

RK: My ex-husband was an incredible sailor. He had brought a river barge from France to Bangladesh. It was almost a world record because you do not sail barges across the sea. But he did. He wanted to use it for a good cause.

My father said, “In Bangladesh we really lack healthcare, so why don’t you make a clinic?” So, I took over the ship and founded the organization.

The first challenge was that I kept hearing: Nobody has done it before what makes you think you would succeed? How can you do it? It is impossible! But actually, it was no rocket science. It was common sense.

The simpler I made the project, the more impactful it became, the more people understood it. I did not need the important people to understand first. I needed the people we were serving to understand. The people in the field, the people receiving the service, they are the ones who would judge and if found suitable would accept, internalize, grow with what we could provide for them. If they understand it, they become the replicating force. The financing partners were of course needed to start with but bigger than money was the fact we listened to the needs to the people and understood, what could be done.   The government, for such a simple delivery mechanism gave us permission, they did not need to intervene. reliability of the services; given at the right time, in the right amount, in the right way, had to be given and the peoples acceptance in the way we worked with them is what made it work. Planning needed a full cycle of thought, extremely complex, from reaching their health needs to them, to ensuring that a reconstructive surgery could be managed when the ship moved, I had to bring it down to a level of simplicity that was useful, effective, replicable and trusted. That was the real challenge.

And then, of course, many people thought: “Ah, she comes from THAT family, she’ll do it for a few days and then forget about it.” They condescendingly indulged me. If I wanted permission, they gave it, assuming I would move on in a few days. Nobody believed I would actually do it, sustain it, and make it a part of my life. But I did and Friendship was born.

AL: As a woman, did you feel you had to prove yourself even more?

RK:  Well, I am always so involved in my vision and reality that I think I give out a vibe that I am a person who can be taken lightly.! And I think most people I interact with understands that. I have the strength to walk out if I do not like a situation. I am not for sale and no one can tempt me with anything.

I think people understood that very clearly from day one.

And I was lucky because I met good people. I also had the strength of reputation, by God’s grace, it was always a strong one. Those who knew me trusted me. Those who knew how I worked understood that I would always do my best.

 I do not do things half-heartedly.

AL: Winning the Earthshot Prize was a major international recognition. What did it mean for you and your team?

RK: Yes, we felt its impact very much. And I will tell you why. It was the first time that the holistic system of the way we work was recognized, not just our mangroves, not just healthcare, not just education, inclusivity, agriculture, or human rights. It was the entire system. No silos of intervention. That is what is so needed in todays world!

Today we call it ICAS — the Integrated Climate Adaptation Solution. And I can say this with confidence because I believe we are one of the longest-running organizations in the world at scale doing this kind of work, proven to be replicable, qualitative sound, even more so than when we started. I had this idea 23years ago: to create a holistic response to people’s needs and thus for those who were climate vulnerability. I think that is what Earthshot recognized. For me, that was particularly important.

Second, I am told, it is known as the Nobel Prize for the Environment. That brings recognition, goodwill, and a kind of credibility. People want to be part of success. So now, in practical terms, it is easier to access certain things, and some barriers are resolved more quickly.

But what I found especially meaningful is that Earthshot does not simply name finalists and winners, it believes in them. It stands behind them and helps them move forward. That matters. Because you need backing, you need help and you need someone to be showing confidence in your work.

And what is often most needed to work with impact, is not just funding for something new and “sexy.” Real impact comes when you identify the gaps in people’s lives and fill them. That is usually not glamorous. Nobody wants to fund the boring gap. But that is where change happens.

AL: You speak often about vision. What would you say to younger generations trying to act in turbulent times?

RK: I always tell the youth you have to have your vision in the stars. Because if your vision is not in the stars, you cannot even reach the moon. But you need to have your foot not on the ground but sunk into the mud – understanding reality.

You need to plant thoughts in people’s minds so that they begin to question themselves about what really matters.

And I truly believe that the impact of one optimist is equal to more than a  hundred thousand pessimists.

AL: Why did you decide to take part in ChangeNOW? What does this platform represent for you?

RK: I am part of this community because I believe the time of the lone activist is over. Single changemakers have played their role. Every stage has its usefulness; every phase has its necessity. But today, no one can do it alone.

Take a person whom I admire greatly - Johan Rockström (who I just met here at ChangeNOW) one of the most influential and visible climate scientist today. But can he bring changes to this world by himself? No. I have been working on climate migration for nearly thirty years. Can I create systemic change alone? No.

You need solidarity.

Unless people come together in a spirit of solidarity, respecting each other’s ideas, sharing them, acknowledging them, it is very difficult to move ahead. And I think ChangeNOW is one of those platforms. We may have different opinions, different methodologies, different pathways, but it is a strong platform for the next steps.

That is why I am very happy to be part of it.

AL: Looking ahead, what is your vision for Friendship over the next decade? What legacy do you hope to leave?

RK: First of all, I do not look at ten years. I look at one hundred years.

Because if you look only at ten years, you cannot expect real change to happen, or expect to become the instrument of that change. Even politicians, if they truly love their country, should look beyond their lifetimes and mandates. They should think about the coming hundred years.

This Earth, I hope, will last much longer than that. So, I must look far beyond myself and my work.

What can I do? I can be an instrument in helping to link the dots for a future we hope for our planet.  If we have the right vision, it will continue to move towards the future we aspire towards long after I am gone, after the next generation is gone. But for that, we must be humble enough to understand that we are only part of a longer chain. Not the whole chain, only part of it.

I hope Friendship has already set examples: of processes, of principles, of what should be replicated and what should not. We are now thinking about building a Friendship Academy. In fact, we have already been working on it for two years. I seriously hope we will be able to link it with organizations such as the Universities in France, the Commonwealth, Bangladesh, Luxembourg, and of course the University of Cambridge.

And beyond that, I think we must stop pretending there is a single panacea which can solve all problems There is no one solution that eradicates the problems we face in this world. Not only health or education, not only social business, not microfinance, not grants alone, not markets alone. Each tool has its place at a certain stage. We must have the humility and courage to understand what is needed where and when. Ensure the path for that to be delivered and done.

We must look at the world as it is and understand that for the next twenty or thirty years, progress will depend on very different sectors learning how to work together. It is not only about money. It is not only about philanthropy, oil, or financial institutions. It is about ensuring that all these worlds understand one another and come onto a common platform. There are 8 billion people each unique, 8 billion ways of doing things…respect, humility and solidarity must be the norm for survival.

That is why Friendship, besides service delivery is also looking at entrepreneurship, at carbon, at new institutional forms. It’s not easy e.g. to find a different kind of carbon market partners one whose purpose is not to make financial gains only.

I want a carbon donor who says: “Here are ten million trees. I want nothing from it. I just want the trees to exist”. I know that cannot happen but let us say at least one who wants a shared benefit of the existence of the carbon market - who is satisfied in contributing to the doing something for ‘common good’ and thus deliver a   meaningful service to the new coming world.

 I do have to, of course, compromise and work with people of different thoughts and goals – but I try never to let go essential values of what I strive daily to stand for – Integrity, Dignity, Justice, Quality and Hope.