By Meghan McLaughlin | Senior Manager, Digital Marketing
Dear friend,
You might remember hearing about the catastrophic flash floods that swept through eastern Bangladesh in August, impacting millions of people. One of them was Rozina, a farmer and mother of two living in Bagrihal Village, Kulaura Upazila.
She had joined BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation program just before the floods struck. At the time, Rozina’s farm was lush with leafy greens and veggies. But the deluge destroyed her crops and flooded her mud home.
Rozina recalls, “On the night of August 22, a deep fear gripped me. The darkness was shattered by the screams of neighbors, making it clear the floodwaters were rising fast. My children, Jamina and Sohan, cried, asking how we would survive. I felt utterly helpless; the water had come so suddenly. We hadn’t prepared for it. All seemed lost.”
A week later, the floodwaters receded. Rozina discovered her garden—and livelihood—had been washed away, but she didn't give up hope. She sought advice from BRAC and her local agricultural office, determined to grow crops that were in high demand. She replanted gourds, radish greens, eggplant, red spinach, and bitter melons.
Guided by BRAC staff, she made the switch to eco-friendly and organic farming techniques like mosquito traps and worm composting. Rozina also leaned on BRAC for psychosocial support when she felt overwhelmed.
Slowly, her fields began to thrive once again. Rozina diversified her income by growing papaya, lemon trees, and chili near her home. She wants to keep expanding her farm and save up to buy cows and goats. Seeing Rozina’s efforts, others in her community started farming in their own yards, too!
Increasingly extreme weather events are impacting food security and livelihoods the world over, ultimately deepening poverty. Because of you, Graduation participants like Rozina gain the tools to rise out of poverty, they stay out of it. While a house can always be washed away, nothing can wash away knowledge, skills, and confidence that comes for people who complete BRAC’s acclaimed, two-year, anti-poverty program.
Thank you for being someone we can count on.
P.S. An unfortunate reality of climate change, Rozina is preparing for inevitable future floods. “I’ve started to raise beds in my fields, and one day, I’ll turn our mud house into a brick one,” she says.
Links:
By Sarah Allen | Communications Manager
By Meghan McLaughlin | Senior Manager, Digital Marketing
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