Concern: From despair to hope: Developing cluster villages in Char lands of Bangladesh

Concern Worldwide Bangladesh – DIPECHO Intervention

By Jalil Lone

On average 1.1 billion tons of sediment are carried down by the Ganges- Brahmaputra- Meghna river system - the largest volume of sediment for any river system in the world. Much of it forms the raw mass for new developing land in the coastal areas known as riverine islands or Chars as it is called in Bangla. These Char lands are often completely inaccessible, and can only be reached by boat and foot. The people living in these Chars have to face the wrath of nature every day as the Char lands get flooded due to the daily tides. Living in conditions unfit for habitat, they are deprived of safe drinking water, health care services, sanitation facilities, cultivable land or agricultural inputs, education services, legal and social structures.

It was exactly a year ago when an unanticipated flood had washed away an entire Char (riverine land) of Mesra union- Ward 3 of Sadar Upazila in the north-western district of Sirajganj, Bangladesh, leaving 35 families stranded with no land to relocate in sight. Concern Worldwide, along with its partner Gono Kalyan Sangthsa through the DIPECHO project, had responded to this emergency and helped build a “cluster village” through plinth-raising of earth about 5000 square feet with the support of the Union Disaster Management Committee. This action was identified through Community Risk Assessment process (CRA), and prioritized due to impending annual flood threats to char lands.

Right after the flooding, the affected families had shifted to the cluster village. Access to safe water and sanitation were critical factors for the families that moved to this cluster village in a newly formed Char since it was uninhabited before. 7 water pumps were installed immediately under the Disaster preparedness programme DIPECHO, and a government primary school was set up by the government as a result of Concern’s advocacy efforts following the Primary Development Programme.

“Today, life in this cluster village of Mesra has transformed completely”, says Anis Ur Rehman with a smile while talking to Concern staff. “All 100 families which moved here after the flood last year are doing well, and have started own initiatives to support themselves through alternative livelihoods. Our people hare also helping out with the construction of a road to connect our cluster village with a bigger Char to gain acess to markets,” adds Anis, who is a Union Disaster Management Committee (UDMC) member, as well as, a Union Parishad member.

A road has been built by the Union Parishad under a scheme for 40 days’ work under a social safety net program. This road connects this cluster village with a larger community and more schools located at bigger Chars. All community members have helped with this road construction work voluntarily. In total, the community in Mesra Char owns 25 milk yielding cows and 30 goats at present. Besides, each family owns a small vegetable garden their own. A sense of satisfaction prevails on the faces of people from the community who remain under the constant threat of flooding that perishes them on regular basis. “The last year has been very difficult. We have had to rebuild our lives starting from scratch. Today, we have safe drinking water for our families, and good education facilities for our children. The school is also being used as a flood shelter at the moment as surrounding Chars have been inundated by floods due to the recent rain,” shares Abdul Majeed, the School Management Committee (SMC) Acting Chairman.

“I am BA honours graduate and posted in this school for the last 5 years. Last year, we had to move to this Char (Ward-3) as water swept away our school in Mesra west. It is a challenge as I am the only teacher educating 200 children in this school. Teachers do not want to work here since it is such a remote region that there is no way to reach this Char without a boat. It is not only extremely difficult, but also very time consuming,” says Himayun Kabir, Assistant teacher posted at a government primary school in this cluster village of Mesra- Ward 3.

A culture of cluster village development has begun in these Char lands as World Food Programme has just began to build a new cluster village right next to this one at Mesra-Ward 3. A foot path has been set up to connect these two communities. This also enhances the camaraderie among these communities to live happily and share prosperity. “We lived for 4 years at the previous Char - the only difference is that only few houses were raised back then, while most of our houses would go under water whenever there was a deluge. But this time, each house is raised equally, which helps us stay safe during floods,” says Anis Rahman while thanking Concern for this work.

One year from the devastating flood that changed the lives of 30 families at once, yet again the Mesra union is almost submerged today due to incessant rains. As the water level has increased, the neighboring community has taken shelter at the Mesra School as their houses have been swamped. This shows that there is still a lot more to do at Mesra Ward-3 today, but looking at the community’s resilience, it seems like a little push can make these Char dwellers claim back their lives.

Concern Worldwide, Bangladesh is implementing a Disaster Preparedness and Resilience project supported by European Commission Humanitarian aid and civil protection in the Char lands of north-west Bangladesh. Concern commemorated 1 year of cluster village development with Mesra union on 25 August, 2015. A village meeting was held in the compounds of Mesra school which was attended by members of the UDMC and the Sub-Agriculture Officer.

Story and photo by Jalil Lone: Programme Manager- DIPECHO, Concern Worldwide, Bangladesh