World Vision has completed aid distributions to more than 31,000 flood-affected families in Bangladesh, including that of 10-year-old Shuvo.

September 12, 2007

By Raphael Palma, Bangladesh Communications


During the recent prolonged flooding in Bangladesh, 10-year-old Shuvo Begum, along with his parents and three siblings, was marooned for more than two weeks in the family's one-room hut.

While standing in line last month with his mother, Sufia, at a World Vision relief distribution, Shuvo was asked to describe his flood experience. "[It was] horrible," he said. "One night a snake caught a frog next to my wooden bed … I could hear the loud cries of the frog that struggled to get free from the snake's sharp, poisonous teeth."

Stomachs Empty, Hearts Full of Fear

In fact, Shuvo's family spent 15 nights in their one-room hut surrounded by encroaching floodwaters — their stomachs empty of food, their hearts full of fear.

"Only the floor of the house was dry where [my] husband and [I] and our four children slept on the bed," Sufia added. Several hundred additional families in the area also were marooned in Shuvo's village of Charpura, in northwest Bangladesh's Sirajganj district, some 90 miles northwest of Dhaka.

Since Aug. 1, teams from World Vision's Bangladesh office have assisted more than 30,000 flood-devastated families in the country. These include about 14,300 of the worst affected families in seven World Vision program areas. We also assisted an additional 17,000 families — including Shuvo's — living in the Sirajganj district where we have no ongoing programs, but where the flooding was particularly severe.

Selling Livestock

While Shuvo and his mother were at the relief distribution, his father, Bakkar Shikder, was at the market, helping to sell some of his neighbor's cattle. "In return for this work, he will get Taka 50 [less than $1] if the sale takes place," Sufia explained.

To sustain themselves, many residents in the flood-soaked region are selling their cattle, chickens, and other domestic animals.

Rain-Soaked Classrooms

Sufia went on to explain that her three youngest children — Shuvo, as well as siblings Shima, 12, and Ibrahim, 6 — all attend classes. Regrettably, the local school remains closed, she says, because of stagnant floodwaters in the classrooms. "We are sending the children to school so their life could be better, not like ours," says the 45-year-old, who does not read or write.

"By having education, I want to be a capable person to do a good job to take better care of our family," Shuvo concludes.

For now, though, says his distraught mom: "Our most urgent need is food and shelter."

Post-Disaster Safety Instructions

Flood-affected families in Bangladesh who received assistance from World Vision also received a post-flood safety instruction pamphlet with their relief packages. The packages included items such as:

• 33 pounds of rice
• About 4.5 pounds of lentils
• Soybean oil
• Two pounds each of salt and sugar
• Seven packets of biscuits
• 10 packets of oral re-hydration solution