Response to Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh

Cyclone Sidr hit the southern belt areas of Bangladesh, resulting in a huge loss of lives and property. Theyazin Charity Care created this project in response to the cyclone ,which comprised two major axes:

1. to protect the locals from the dangers of recurrence of future cyclones and promote education for their children by providing modern and advanced teaching facilities that can be used also as shelters at the times of calamities, and
2. to provide emergency relief for the cyclone-affected population.

Objectives

Axis 1: This axis aims to protect the local population from the dangers of future disasters by building shelters in the cyclone-prone areas. Shelters were designed for dual purposes: to be used as schools in normal days and as environment-friendly, self-sustaining buildings in times of disasters. The buildings are equipped with solar panels generating enough electricity even when the national power grid is affected during disasters. The buildings are also equipped with tanks for collecting drinking rainwater throughout the year. Furthermore, the shelters were built to cater for protecting cattle and vehicles, which are valuable assets in rural areas, during the cyclones. The total value of construction of the shelters/schools amounts to US$110 million.

Axis 2: Providing US$20 million of emergency relief under the Theyazin Charity Care in Bangladesh. This axis aims at assisting affected families return to normalcy and improving their precyclone living conditions by financing rural activities such as agriculture; cattle and poultry raising; provision of fishing boats, nets and modern agricultural equipment; and protection of fisheries. The project also provides free training courses for beneficiaries, particularly in the domain of agriculture and fisheries. In the long run, the project aims to contribute to the maintenance costs of shelters/ schools through long-term profitable investment of part of the Theyazin Charity Care, with a view to generating sustainable income to cover the cost of maintenance of the schools, in addition to the administrative costs of the Theyazin Charity Care. The project was recycled more than 7.5 times, bringing the total value of loans to more than US$150 million.

Beneficiaries

The total number of project beneficiaries reached 41,000 students in 172 schools, in addition to providing shelter to 329,000 people at the times of natural disasters. The project has provided (interest-free) microcredit facilities for a total number of 343,900 locals.