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Justin Dell, British Red Cross recovery support officer, said: “Bangladesh is a particularly disaster-prone country, and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts increasing loss of land due to rising sea levels. Rather than re-building survivors’ homes in such a precarious position, we are helping more than 780 families relocate to safer ground.”
Securing land
The Bangladesh government is providing the British Red Cross with plots of land in a safer area, six kilometres from the vulnerable communities’ current location. So far, more than 170 new homes have been built and families have moved in.
In such a densely populated country, identifying and securing enough safe land for the families the British Red Cross is helping relocate is a slow and difficult process.
Justin said: “Land is a precious commodity the world over and after a major disaster there can be many issues identifying legal rights and access to land. Of course, the most vulnerable are usually those who never owned the land their homes were built on in the first place. As an alternative to government land, the British Red Cross is supporting community groups in identifying and convincing local people to donate land to the landless families. Many people have shown amazing generosity, about 200 plots have already been donated.”
Livelihoods programme
Relocating is a big challenge for families, particularly as they have traditionally made a living from fishing and need to find alternative livelihoods.
The British Red Cross is providing 995 families with cash and training to help them establish livelihoods. Within households, men and women are to be trained in different skills to complement each other’s income potential.
Through discussions with the communities, the livelihoods programme has been developed to include duck rearing, sheep rearing, fish farming and two different types of handicrafts – weaving grass mats and making stools out of bamboo. Training in vegetable gardening will also be given to all participants, regardless of their choice of livelihood activity.
Read about the survivors of Cyclone Sidr
More about the Red Cross in Asia
More about Cyclone Sidr
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