DanChurchAid
Bangladesh
The story of Fedousi
|
| Fedousi Begum from Bokultolla village in Bangladesh |
Debt - and a prayer
"My husband is a fisherman, but we live in an area covered by the water-sanitation rehabilitation scheme, thus we are in principle not entitled to also become co-owners of a fishing boat. But our situation is this: Just before the cyclone, we had a new fishing boat constructed. This boat was completely destroyed by the cyclone, which was really bad for us, because we had borrowed 60.000 taka to buy it! Most of the money we borrowed from the fishing lord - the one who owns several trawlers - but we also took loans from a local money lender. The money lender takes very high interest rates, so we will try to pay back that loan first. The loan from the fishing lord is considered to be an advance. We do not pay interest, but we are obliged to sell all the fish to him (at his prices) until the advance has been paid. But now the boat is gone, so we have no money to repay the money lender, and no fish to repay the advance from the fishing lord. So my husband has to work as a crew member on a trawler. That is why we would very much like to also get one fishing boat from DSK - even if we already have been covered by the water-sanitation program."
Improvements in the wake of the disaster
"Did something good come out of the cyclone? Has there been any improvements afterwards?" we ask.
"The relief aid after the cyclone has actually improved our lives in several ways compared to before the cyclone," Fedousi replies. "Sanitation has improved and we have had a lot of basic health education and hygiene training. Now we wash our hands before meals and after having been to the latrine. And now all families have access to their own pit-latrine and there is no more foul smell in the village. And the woman in the family is recorded as the owner of the latrines!"
"What difference does it make who owns the latrines," we ask.
"This is the very first time my name was put on paper as owner of anything! And the latrine has some value, you know: the corrogated iron sheets, the wood, the seat, the concrete rings - well, it amounts to something, doesn't it?!"
"Also, the water situation has improved. New hand-pumps has been installed - one for every 20 families. The water from these pumps is not for drinking, though, but only for household use, as the well is not deep enough to reach down to clean ground water. There is problems with salinity and arsenic in the water in this area. For each 100 families one PSF has been constructed to provide clean drinking water. A PSF consists of a big pond where rain water is collected. This water is pumped up and runs through filters composed of layers of sand and stones in two chambers, before it is clean enough to be drunk. Before we had to walk two-three kilometers to fetch drinking water. Now it is right here in our village.
"Another improvement is that DSK in the wake of the cyclone initiated savings groups for women - 20 women in each group, one from each family. This will prove very helpful to start small businesses, and thus improve our income and livelihood. We save ten takas every week. And we have a lot of fun!"
"From where do you get the ten takas?"
"My husband gives them to me."
"Couldn't you save the ten takas from your household budget?"
"I have no household budget. In Muslim societies it is our men who do all the shopping."
"Can the men borrow from the saving group?"
"Only through their wifes, so in that way we have got some empowerment. You could also say that through the savings groups and through the exposure women have to all kinds of NGOs and people from outside, like yourself, we are given opportunities to express ourselves and gain confidence."
Learning from disaster
"Did the cyclone teach you anything? Is there anything you have learned from your experiences during and following the cyclone?"
"One thing we learned," replies Fedousi, "was how important it is to look after each other. Somehow we villagers have become closer than before. We have also realized that the cyclone shelter in the village is too small, and located too far away from where we live."
The future
"What are your needs now?"
"Every family in our village has been provided with relief food and toilets, and some have had their water and sanitation improved, while others have got fishing boats and nets. In our community this was provided by DSK supported by DCA, and financed by ECHO, and for this we are very greatful. But we still live in make-shift shelters, and most of us need better housing - especially now that the monsoon is starting and it will rain heavily. Last night when it poured down, my family had to run for cover in our neighbour's tent. And we are also very concerned about our livelihood, - both the farmers and fishermen. Actually if the fishing boats had engines our livelihood would be much more secure."
By Viggo Brun, vbr.india@dca.dk
|
|
