Friendship is a needs-driven non-governmental organisation that works in the Char islands and riverbanks of northern Bangladesh, the coastal belt in the south, and as of 2017, the Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar in the southeast.

[10] Starting from 2005, a system of mobile Satellite Clinics was set up, complemented by health workers to serve communities at the grassroots level.

[1] Friendship also has projects in education, disaster management, good governance, sustainable economic development and cultural preservation.

[1] Khan won the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2006[14] for work through Friendship to preserve the declining craft of traditional boat building in Bangladesh.

[14] Earlier, she wrote text-books for children with the aim of moving away from rote learning, an effort that won her the Ashoka Fellowship in 1994.

[citation needed] Three years after Friendship went into operation in Bangladesh, Runa Khan took steps to set up a network of supporting organisations in Europe.

[20] The building complex serves as a training facility[21] and meeting space for staff as well as the local community who live on nearby riverine islands called chars.

[20] In the training area, visitors sit on the floor for classes and community members in the mostly-illiterate population may watch educational theatre presentations on important issues such as child marriage.

[24] Instead, the design called for an earthen embankment surrounding the complex, and a pumping facility for run-off,[22] which helps keep water out at a low initial building cost.

[22] The nearby ruins of the Vasu Bihara Buddhist temple, built in the third and fourth century, inspired the building's design.

[30] The award jury praised the training centre for its use of integrative design to blend into its natural surroundings while reflecting the region's history and archaeology.