Project of the Week: Relief Equipment for Casualties of "Sidr"
When on November 17 cyclone Sidr reached the Southeast coast of Bangaldesh, the massive waves not only destroyed coastal villages, but the ensuing winds devastated whole areas further inland as well. Around 2400 dead were to be mourned (the Bangladesh Daily Star even speaks about unofficial estimates of 10.-15.thousand), over 3 million people were affected directly, not to mention the consequences for the whole of the national economy, especially the annual harvest.
In this situation CARE Germany-Luxemburg reacted immediately and called, among others, for donations on betterplace.org. With the help of project sponsor Daimler Financial Services AG and 135 donors on betterplace, CARE was able to distribute 70 water pumps (each providing 15 families with clean water), as well as hundreds of survival packages, plastic sheets and food parcels.
Astrid Marxen, for CARE responsible for the emergency relief on betterplace, wrote about the organisations efforts, while from Bangladesh another CARE worker blogged about the situation on the ground.
The remaining costs of the project will be covered by Daimer Financial Services AG, while CARE will start the New Year with a long-term recovery project for the afflicted areas.
A short note at the end: The cyclone also had devastating effects on a singular ecosystem, the mangrove-swamps of the Sundarbans. A beautiful introduction into the area and its inhabitants is Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Hungry Tide.