Sidr victims moved with love, helping hands
The people of Majhherchar and Rayenda villages in Sharonkhola, worst affected by Sidr, got more than what the hurricane took away from them. They got love and heartiest cooperation from people of Satkhira to start life again with renewed hopes.
It was beyond their imagination that within three weeks of the devastation they would live in rebuilt houses, have food and blankets to sleep at night.
It has been possible due to the prompt action and generosity of Amra Satkhira Basi (We, the inhabitants of Satkhira), a body of volunteers that came forward with all possible help to the Sidr victims in the two villages.
Three days after Sidr battered the coasts, Amra Satkhira Basi was formed at a meeting at Satkhira Press Club on November 18 at the initiative of Satkhira Police Superintendent Mirza Abdullahel Baki.
Its members, drawn from all strata of life, including cultural activists, collected money, house building materials, food, clothing and blankets. The response to the call for help was overwhelming. Even poor rickshawpullers came forward with money and old clothes.
Within 10 days, the newly floated organisation collected over Tk 21 lakh and goods worth about Tk 30 lakh from people and different organisations.
It then decided to rehabilitate 330 families in Majhherchar village in Mathbaria upazila and Rayenda in Sharankhola in Bagerhat districts, worst affected by Sidr.
The pauper villagers were under the sky, without food and warm clothes as Sird washed away everything in the two Baleshwar river basin villages.
On Sunday, over 60 volunteers led by SP Mirza Abdullahel Baki went to the two affected villages with truckloads of house building materials including CI sheets, food, warm clothes and blankets, collected from people in Satkhira town. Divided into groups, some volunteers started rebuilding houses while others led by Baki distributed relief among the victims.
“I could not think of having my house rebuilt within such a short time', Aklima Khatun of Majhherchar village said while talking to this correspondent on Tuesday.
Like her, Belal Hosssain of the village had no words to express his gratitude to the volunteers. “We got more than what Sird took away. The help and cooperation (from Amra Satkhira Basi) is unexpected and beyond our imagination”, he said.
“We even got mosquito nets”, he said.
Joined by the affected families, the volunteers rebuilt all the houses in a day.
Besides a cash grant of Tk 1000, each family got clothes and blankets for all members.
The organisers later said CI sheets for all the houses involved over Tk 12 lakh.
While distributing relief, Baki told the affected people that it is a moral obligation for all to come to the aid of the needy.
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