Cyclone Sidr, a category 4 cyclone swept across the Bay of Bengal and hit the southern coast of Bangladesh on Nov. 15/07.  The resulting 15' storm surge did tremendous damage.  Reports indicate that approximately 560,000 homes were totally destroyed, another 900,000 were damaged, close to 3,500 people killed and 8.9 million people displaced.  Add to this the fact that Bangladesh is an extremely poor country with minimal, poorly constructed housing and a picture emerges of mass destruction along the southern coast and in land from the delta rivers.

ShelterBox responded quickly, following the cyclone, moving 224 boxes into Bangladesh which were stored at Dubai for just such an emergency. Since then another 800 boxes have been sent to the southern disaster zone, distributed by 3 previous SRTs.  With the deployment of 200 boxes by our team, the total number of Shelterboxes sent to Bangladesh is now 1,224.  In the two months since Sidr,  people are in the recovery and rebuilding stage.  Accordingly, ShelterBox HQ decided not to send tents in this shipment, but rather fill the boxes with tools, stoves, blankets and various supplies to help in the reconstruction stage.  The contents of each of our 200 boxes were designed to be shared with 2 groups; we therefore distributed supplies to 396 families (2 school boxes were included).

I arrived in Dhaka on Jan. 10.  Previous reports indicated that the area of greatest need was in the Patharghata Division.  Two SRT's headed south to that area on Jan. 11 to do an assessment survey to determine who were most in need, the best distribution points and means of transportation. 

Two of us remained in Dhaka to work with local Rotarian Ahmed Faroque, to arrange import tax exemptions, customs clearance and transportation for the boxes.  We made all the arrangements that we could, prior to the arrival of the boxes, but the important Ministry of Food & Disaster Management (MFDM) required the original Bills of Lading, before they would grant import tax exemption. 

As indicated, I spent all of my time in Dhaka except for the travel time and one day of distribution in Patharghata and accordingly my comments reflect these experiences:

- The help of local Rotarian Ahmed Faroque was invaluable in guiding us through the complicated maze of paper work, required signatures and red tape necessary to clear the boxes and avoid the import taxes.  It reinforces the importance of establishing knowledgeable contacts in the field and again Rotary was the means to this end.

- It was inspirational to see that these people, who have been through so much and have so little, do not to give up and are determined to carry on.  This is where ShelterBox is so effective, initially providing them with basic shelter, supplies and tools to allow them the dignity of rebuilding their own lives.  You could see it in their eyes.

Ron Noseworthy