Enabling poor communities to repair and protect their homes.
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Kamal is a dedicated day laborer responsible for a family of five: himself, his wife and his 3 sons. He lives in the village of East Khirdiya in the coastal region of Hatiya (Bangladesh), a region that frequently falls victim to cyclones moving through the Bay of Bengal.
With his modest wages, Kamal can’t even afford the very basic necessities of daily life, let alone the tools or materials to complete home repairs. But, where he lives, these home repairs can mean the difference between life and death.
Between the months of April and December, Hatiya is frequently hit by severe storms killing many and causing widespread property damage. Since natural disasters have become an inevitable occurrence for these inhabitants it’s crucial they prepare their homes effectively to minimise the impact of these disasters.
The Friendship Disaster Management Committee (FDMC) has been working together with locals to strengthen communities in Hatiya. Amongst other activities, they provide training in disaster preparedness and also ensure members have access to what is known locally as “shelter kits”.
These kits are made available for free to people in the community enabling them to conduct small scale yet essential repairs and maintenance works to their homes and shelters.
Each kit usually consists of a claw hammer, hand saw, chisel, crowbar, pliers, screw driver, and hand drill.
Kamal gained access to one of the shelter kits when he became a member of the FDMC. He used it to strengthen and protect his home by building a tin enclosure around his house as well as other small scale repairs. Without this somewhat simple kit, Kamal would never have been able to afford the tools to repair the damages to his family’s home.
Earlier this year, Friendship provided shelter kits to 20 communities in disaster-prone areas. The initiative was taken through the Community Initiated Disaster Risk Reduction for Coastal Areas of Bangladesh (CIDRR-Coastal) project. More than 65 houses and 100 other structures in the area have been repaired or strengthened through the use of these kits allowing inhabitants like Kamal Hossain to benefit from this initiative.
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