ACT News Update

Asia 03/07

South Asia Floods: Stories of survival

August 28, 2007

Central Bangladesh - By Jonas Nøddekær, ACT International

Families gather on the roadway where they found refuge from the rising flood waters. Photo by Jonas Nøddekær/DCA-ACT International.

After escaping the massive floods, Maleka and her family (husband and four children) found safety with 50 other families on a highway embankment, constructing a makeshift wood hut with another family in the middle of the road.

The floods, which have affected almost half of Bangladesh’s population, washed away Maleka’s house, all of her family’s belongings and the fields where she and her husband used to work. In order to provide for her family, she had to borrow money from a private lender. With a monthly interest rate of 20% and the reality of unemployment for the next two to three months, it will be a long time before she can repay the loan.

Responding to the needs of flood-affected communities, members of the global humanitarian alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, have begun providing assistance to the 50 families on this stretch of roadway. ACT members, Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) and DanChurchAid (DCA) have provided families with rice, biscuits, water and candles.

When families start to return home, a critical need will be the reconstruction of houses, wells, dams, roads and schools. ACT members are currently planning for how best to help families get back on their feet. Reconstruction plans include using local skills, which means Maleka and other families will be able to earn a living.

ACT members in Bangladesh are currently assessing the situation with the possibility of issuing an appeal through the ACT alliance.

As the water slowly recedes, Maleka says she looks forward to starting afresh and returning to what was left behind.

Jonas Nøddekær is the Asia Coordinator for ACT member, DanChurchAid (DCA).


KailaIi, Nepal - By Gopal Dahal, ACT International

Dhansara Dhungana with her brother in the Bhajani camp in Bangladesh. Photo by LWF-ACT International.

Dhansara Dhungana has been living in the temporary camp of Bhajani-3 since the floods displaced her family in late July.

“Seeing the rising water level in our village, we set off for a safer place. My parents carried my brothers. It took us three hours by boat to reach this place,” from the day she left her village of Krishnanagar in Bhajani, Nepal, recalls Dhansara, who is about 10 years old.

Her father, mother, sister and brothers are huddled inside a ramshackle hut that provides little protection from the rain and wind. ”We could not take anything from our house. Food grain, clothes and utensils are all lying there,” Dhansara adds.

Responding to an acute food crisis in the temporary camp, ACT member, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Nepal distributed food items to 350 families in the Kailali district. Plans for a larger appeal for Nepal are still being determined by LWF as it coordinates with other responders in the region.

Gopal Dahal is a staff member in Nepal with ACT member, Lutheran World Federation (LWF).


Singhla, India - By Anjana Biswas, ACT International

When the floods struck Luski Hembrums village, the mud walls of her home were washed away and only the thatched roof on the bamboo poles remained.

Ms. Hembrum is an elderly woman from the Singhla village in the Balasore district of India. Her son, daughter-in-law and grand children are now living with her.

When staff from ACT member, Lutheran World Service India (LWSI), recently visited her, she expressed her gratitude for what she had received through support from the ACT alliance.

LWSI had provided assistance for Ms. Hembrum’s family including clothing, bed sheets, high-protein biscuits, water purification tablets and a polythene sheet.

She shared with the LWSI staff that she was especially appreciative of the polythene sheet. When it rains, she uses it to cover the roof and the side of her house. But, during the day she uses it to dry thatch as she rebuilds her home.

Ms. Hembrum’s family is just one of many who are receiving assistance from ACT members in India. LWSI is currently distributing family relief kits to 5,000 families in Orissa and approximately 2,000 families in West Bengal with funding from an ACT appeal. With further support for the appeal, members will be able to assist communities with housing reconstruction and future risk reduction.

Anjana Biswas is a program coordinator with ACT member, Lutheran World Service India (LWSI).

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For more information on the wider response by ACT members throughout central and south Asia, please refer to the following story:
http://www.act-intl.org/news/dt_nr_2007/dtasia0207.html

Action by Churches Together (ACT) International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.