Emergency Relief for Flood Victims in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is among one of the most densely populated countries in the world as well as one of the most susceptible countries to flood disasters. Bangladesh has one of the world’s most powerful rivers running through it, Branhmaputra. In addition, approximately half of the land area in Bangladesh is at an elevation of less than 8 meters above sea level. This in conjunction with Bangladesh’s heavy monsoon rains and snowmelt from the Himalayas that enter the river at its source, creates terrible flood affecting approximately 7 million people.  

In July, Bangladesh faced massive floods in many districts such as Rangpur, Gaibandha, Mankiganj, Tangil, Bogura, Sylhet and several other districts. The flooding has resulted in many other issues such as inundated crop fields, breached dams, snapped road and rail links, river erosion as well as the evacuation and closure of education institutions. This includes our JAGGO school in Lokkhipur that has recently closed down due to the consequences of river erosion in that area. In addition, thousands of people have been displaced across Bangladesh due to the downpower and flooding.

JAAGO and Volunteer for Bangladesh (VBD), a platform for the youth of Bangladesh, have come together to provide emergency relief support in the form of food, medicine, clean water, clothes etc. in order to help families get back on their feet so they are able to be self-sufficient faster.

The people of Tahirpur Upazila and Gongachora live in the inaccessible part of rural Sunamganj and Rangpur, respectively. With the majority of its residents living under the poverty line they were unable to afford the daily necessities, especially when affected by the flood. With the generous support from our GlobalGiving donors and the support provided by Habib Bank, our volunteers were able to provide 800 total families with relief kits in both Sunamganj and Rangpur. Clean water was an essential part of our relief kits as it allowed for us to help an outbreak of several waterborne diseases, such as cholera, as floodwaters plays a role in overflowing sanitation systems and can contaminate water sources. 

We would like to sincerely thank you all for the donations to this project, it was through your generous donations that we were able to make an impact and provide relief to to so many individuals during such a crucial time. Our volunteers have come together to work towards a safer and stronger Bangladesh and we would like to express our deepest appreciation to all our donors for supporting this special cause. 

Bangladesh is a South Asian country with the Bay of Bengal on its south and borders with India on three of the west, north and east. Bangladesh is the 8^th most populous country in the world. With three of the world's mightiest river systems and being situated in the world's largest delta, river bank erosion is taking away precious land from the small nation with a growing population every year. Bangladesh has a tropical climate and is well known for being one of the most vulnerable climate prone countries as natural calamities like floods, cyclones, tides occur almost every year. The country falls victims to floods too often and excessive rainfall; rising of river water level; global warming; lack of sufficient canals and obstacles of roads and forest are some of the many reasons for this.

On July 2019 the country faced massive floods in many parts of the country including Kurigram, Rangpur, Sylhet, Gaibandha, Bogura, Sirajganj, Tangail, Manikganj, Faridpur and many other districts. Flooding has triggered river erosion, breached dams, snapped road and rail links, inundated crop fields and forced educational institutions shut. One of our JAAGO Schools in Gaibandha has also faced difficulty and is still in concern regarding its operation. Huge amount of people across Bangladesh have been displaced due to the downpours and the rush of water. This has also put the population into the risk of water-borne diseases.

JAAGO Foundation started its Youth Development Program “Volunteer for Bangladesh (VBD)” in 2011 and since then it has been the pioneer in giving a platform to raise the voice to the youth of Bangladesh. Volunteer for Bangladesh is a platform that would allow youth from different social background to come and work together to reduce the social and economic inequalities to build a better Bangladesh. Our Volunteers engage themselves in campaigns visioning to World Children’s Day, Awareness on Road Safety Issues, Ensuring Water Quality, Encouraging Hygiene Practices, Waste Management, Achieving Universal Access to Education, Promoting Gender Equality and Environmental Sustainability.

Relief operation has become a really essential action for the flood-affected people. Government and voluntary organisations usually come forward to help the flood victims.This year, to tackle the deadliest flood, our volunteers from all across Bangladesh worked for providing emergency relief to people in Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Sunamganj, Lalmonirhaat and Bogura districts of Bangladesh. We believe our volunteers are very generous and helpful. We have over 35,000 volunteers all over Bangladesh and many of them took time to participate in helping the flood victims. The volunteers participated in the emergency situation with a strategic plan and a fairly organised manner. Necessary relief items were bought and our volunteers distributed them in the mentioned districts. We also raised funds through a Facebook campaign for buying the necessary aids. They went to the districts first and then identified a place where they could organise the distribution process. The volunteers then provided all the people with tokens the night before the distribution. This ensured that there will not be any difficulty and people will maintain a queue during the relief distribution. They provided dry food, water purification tablet, salt, saline, candles, soap and disinfectants to around 1000 families aiding more than 4000 people.

Your smallest help has the ability to contribute greatly towards one person’s well-being which might change their lives. We are very grateful to our supporters on Global Giving as well as the donors, INGOs, corporates and NGO partners who consider and choose to help them. Your kindness and liberality gives us the spirit to work for these underprivileged people. We would like to express our gratitude to all the people who have supported us during such a crucial time. We hope to receive your care and support at all times.