2 August, 2004

Caritas gives $20,000 for Flood Victims in Bangladesh

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, the Catholic agency for justice, peace and development has given $20,000 to their partner Caritas Bangladesh help those affected by the devastating floods.

Caritas Bangladesh has started immediate relief distribution of rice, pulses and soybean oil among 25,000 flood affected families which is expected to increase to 40,000 families. There are also steps underway to provide medicine and for the construction of 5,500 low cost houses for those that have lost everything.

Dr. Benedict Alo D'Rozario, director of disaster management and development for Caritas Bangladesh says for so many people whose lives are already difficult, they now face increased hardship. “Tens of thousands of people continue to remain marooned in open places and many of them do not yet have adequate relief. Prices of essentials have gone up. The poor families have hardly enough food stock for four/five days and the day labourers do not have any work.”

To date, more than 23 million people have been affected and over 500 have died in the devastating floods which have destroyed homes, roads and bridges and damaged more than 2 million acres of crops in the world’s most densely populated country.

In the country’s capital Dhaka, about 40 per cent of the city is under water. There are added concerns for the health of the city’s 10 million inhabitants as flood water contaminated with sewage flows through the streets.

There have been outbreaks of diarrhoea, typhoid and dysentery reported and with water sources contaminated the numbers of people falling ill are reaching epidemic proportions.

ENDS

© Scoop Media