29th September 2018
We are delighted to have received a number of pictures and videos from our Rotary Club colleagues in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Aquabox was very gratified to be able to send a supply of 500 Gold Boxes to be distributed to the needy Rohingya people in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is a poor country and coping with the needs of the fleeing peoples from Myanmar placed a massive demand on an already over-stretched social support system.
The camps have a gender imbalance in many cases, with a predominance of women (many of the men were targeted as part of the relocation of the Rohingya people). The video reflects this with long lines of mostly women whose very important function is to provide for their fragmented, bereaved and traumatised families.
Most of the women are illiterate and are required to identify themselves (for correct distribution of the Gold boxes) with fingerprints. This is efficient, but time-consuming and in itself a major challenge for the Rotarians and Government official who oversaw the process in the camps.
Communication is often fraught with difficulties in situations such as this population crisis. Unlike here in the UK, it can be very erratic, tardy and at times impossible. At Aquabox we are conscious of the generosity of our donors, without whose help these deliveries of aid would be impossible to carry out (this shipment alone cost in excess of £75,000). Our persistence in obtaining this video reflects how important we believe it is for our donors to see what they have enabled us to achieve.
To see more of the pictures and the videos, please visit the Aquabox Facebook page here.