Seven years later, hear the stories of the refugees still sheltering in Bangladesh

On the seventh anniversary of the Rohingya refugee crisis, hear from the people who still call Cox’s Bazar home.

BY SARAH ALLEN

On August 25, 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people began flooding from their homes in Myanmar to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh amid unimaginable violence. Today, nearly one million Rohingya refugees are still sheltering in makeshift shelters in the refugee camps.

Everyone deserves a life of security, dignity, and opportunity: But for families who have experienced the unthinkable, even the most basic needs are out of reach. As the organization with the largest response to support refugees in Cox’s Bazar, BRAC will always continue to stand with refugees.

Meet some of the refugees whose resilience and determination are making an impact on their community — and inspiring us every day.

Shamima, Play Leader

“In Myanmar, as a female in the Rohingya community, I was not allowed to work or continue my education independently. Now, I have a job as a Play Leader with BRAC in the Humanitarian Play Lab at my camp. I hope all Rohingya children receive proper, culturally sensitive education to become stronger human beings.” –Shamima

Shamima works with infants through age six, caring for the 50 children that attend her center each day and visiting families in the community. She has worked as a Play Leader for nearly two years! BRAC’s Humanitarian Play Labs provide a safe place for Rohingya children to learn, grow, and heal from the trauma of conflict and displacement.

Muhammed, child at a Humanitarian Play Lab

“I used to be shy, but now I’m not, thanks to the Play Lab. Today, I am attending primary school at a BRAC learning center in Camp 15. I wish to continue my education and promote Rohingya culture to the world.” –Muhammed

Muhammad started attending a BRAC Humanitarian Play Lab as a toddler in 2021. His time at the Humanitarian Play Lab helped him play, learn, and develop critical early childhood skills that helped prepare him for primary school!

Nur, community health worker

“I vividly recall the painful memories of my journey to Bangladesh on November 17th, 2017. The Myanmar army killed many of our relatives and neighbors in our hometown in Mondu, Rakhine State. Fortunately, we managed to escape to Cox’s Bazar, on the other side of the border. I secured a job as a community health worker with the support of BRAC in February 2022. While I enjoy my job, I do not feel at ease here. Our opportunities are dwindling day by day, and we long to return to our own homeland with citizenship and security.” –Nur

Nur, age 20, is a community health worker. After starting with BRAC in 2022, she trained in family planning, primary health care services, and immunizations. Each day she goes door-to-door through the Rohingya refugee settlements to provide basic health information and services, conducts health awareness sessions, and informs pregnant women about emergency services at hospitals.

Raiha, child at a learning center

“I don’t even remember the day my family migrated to Bangladesh from Myanmar, because I was very young at the time. My parents told me that they had to flee here seven years ago because of the persecution by the Myanmar army. Now that I am older, I am studying in fourth grade at BRAC’s learning center. Sometimes, our parents share stories about the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military, but they also encourage us to focus on our studies and move forward. I am determined to continue my education. Having an education will help us live with dignity if we ever return to our country.” –Raiha

Raiha has been a student at a BRAC learning center in the refugee camp, since January 2021. Her family is deeply involved in her education, regularly attending parents’ sessions and discussing the importance of education with her. Learning centers in the refugee camps are open to children ages five through 14, and have recently adopted Myanmar’s curriculum. At the learning center, Raiha studies math, English, Burmese, science, life skills, and social studies, and is taught by Rohingya teachers.

Laila, hygiene promotion volunteer

“My responsibilities have made me a respected and reliable figure in my community. People depend on me for guidance and support, frequently coming to me with their water, sanitation, and hygiene issues, because they trust I can connect them with the proper authorities. I am proud to see the significant changes my work has triggered. Now, my community practices excellent hygiene and has developed a strong sense of ownership over their water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities. I am grateful to BRAC for empowering me and proud of the positive impact I have made.” –Laila

Laila has worked as a hygiene promotion volunteer in her community since 2020, when she trained with BRAC on how to promote healthy water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. Now, she visits other refugee families daily, educating them about essential hygiene practices. She shows families how to properly wash their hands to prevent disease, keep their water clean, and avoid illnesses like diarrhea and dengue. She also meets with her community to help them address challenges related to water, sanitation, and hygiene and how best to maintain facilities, like latrines.

Fatema, solid waste volunteer

“When flowers bloom or vegetables grow in those gardens, I feel proud. I feel like my work has brought happiness to my community. This job has taught me how to manage household waste properly, and now I share this knowledge with neighbors to help keep the community clean and support compost production. This job has also provided much-needed financial stability. Since my husband was killed by the Myanmar military in 2012, I have faced many financial hardships. My role as a solid waste segregator allows me to buy my children their favorite foods and new clothes. It has brought me dignity as a woman and mother and brought positive change to my community.” –Fatema

Fatema, a mother of four living in the refugee camp, joined BRAC as a solid waste volunteer at a waste management plant in 2023. She learned how to identify and safely handle organic, inorganic, hazardous, and residual waste. As a waste segregator, she separates waste generated in the camps, and works with her coworkers to categorize it. Organic waste is composted and transformed into fertilizer for community gardens.

Seven years into the crisis, Rohingya refugees still need your support. Give now to reach refugee families with support, skills, and hope.

Sarah Allen is Communications Manager at BRAC USA.

Seven years later, hear the stories of the refugees still sheltering in Bangladesh - Slide

When 21-year old Khadija lost her father, her family lost everything. Two years later, she has built a thriving business raising chickens.

BY BRAC AFGHANISTAN

Two years ago, Khadija, a 21-year-old from the Dehdadi district of Afghanistan, faced a life-altering tragedy. The sudden loss of her father, the sole breadwinner of the family, left Khadija and her family helpless. As the oldest of three children, Khadija’s two younger brothers, aged 11 and 16, and her mother, were depending on her. With limited education and few opportunities in Afghanistan, Khadija felt the weight of her family’s future resting on her shoulders.

Desperate for a way to support her family, Khadija was determined. She sought help from neighbors and friends, but nothing resulted in a stable income for her family.

In October 2022, a glimmer of hope arrived when BRAC launched a livelihood project in Afghanistan and invited Khadija to participate. Through a comprehensive 36-day training program, she learned how to rear chickens and use an incubator to help eggs hatch. The training helped Khadija build her technical skills, expand her knowledge, and boost her confidence.

After the training, Khadija received an incubator, a battery, solar panels, wiring, a lamp, switches, feeding and water bowls, chick feed, and $1160 in cash to help launch her own poultry farming venture. Equipped with these resources, Khadija embarked on her journey as an entrepreneur raising chickens.

Khadija’s incubator, with a capacity for 96 eggs, has yielded an excellent success rate: She hatches an average of 90 chickens in a cycle, which typically takes around 36 to 40 days. Since launching her business, Khadija has raised nine cycles of chickens: more than 800 chickens in about a year. She sells about 60 chickens per cycle, earning her a net income of 3500-4000 Afghani (approximately $50 USD) per cycle.

Khadija raises the remaining chickens herself, providing her family with a steady supply of eggs and a critical source of protein. Her chickens produce at least a dozen eggs daily, and after setting aside a few eggs for her family’s consumption, she sells her surplus at the local market. She sells 8-11 eggs per day for around 8 Afghani ($0.11) each, further boosting her income.

From having nothing to building a thriving business at the age of 23, Khadija’s transformation is truly inspirational. With her hard-earned money, Khadija is successfully supporting her family as its primary breadwinner, enabling her to purchase items like carpets and kitchen tools for their home.

Khadija now dreams of expanding her poultry business, aspiring to greater success and a lasting impact on her family’s future. She is determined to continue her journey of resilience. From a place of despair, she has transformed into a pillar of strength for her family, lighting the path to a promising future.

2024-07-15

World Youth Skills Day: Lonah stitches skills for a new future

Lonah is one of thousands of girls in Uganda who are gaining business, livelihood, and life skills. On World Youth Skills Day, discover how she’s using these new skills to build a business and rewrite her future.

BY SARAH ALLEN

At just 21 years old, Lonah is a mother, small business owner, and the breadwinner of her family. Her family of three — herself, her spouse, and her baby, Verena, just seven months old — lives in Luwero, Uganda, where they rent a modest home.

Lonah moved to Luwero from northern Uganda in late 2020, and when she first arrived, she felt isolated. As an outsider coming to a new place amid a pandemic, she didn’t have any friends in her community.

She also had no income of her own: she primarily spent her time caring for the home, while her husband sold pineapples in the local market.

But last year, everything changed when she joined a youth empowerment club with other young women in her community.

“My friends almost doubled!” she shared gleefully. Lonah made many new friends and, importantly, gained a community of young women her age facing similar experiences.

Each Friday at 3:00, Lonah would walk to the clubhouse in her community, just a few steps away from her home. At the time, she was already pregnant with Verena.

The club became a safe space for Lonah amid her peers and a near-peer mentor, many of whom were pregnant or had young children, too. They sang songs, danced, socialized, and learned about critical topics like sexual and reproductive health and gender rights.

“There are teachings as women that we are usually told. But in the clubs, we learned all about topics like family planning, balanced diets, and child abuse.”

The girls also learned about budgeting, saving, and entrepreneurship. Lonah, who had always been interested in fashion, was interested in becoming a tailor: so BRAC connected her with a vocational training program to learn sewing. She also gained a critical tool to launch her business.

“I got this sewing machine here from BRAC; something I never imagined getting in my life,” she shared while beaming at her prized possession.

Lonah is just one of over 70,000 girls who participated in the program last year — Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women (AIM) in partnership with BRAC — and this year, another 200,000 girls joined her. By the program’s end, nearly a million more adolescent girls and young women ages 12-34 will gain life skills and age-appropriate entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.

Since participating in the tailoring training, Lonah’s business has taken off. She has begun to attract more customers, and she is receiving plenty of custom orders. Her tailoring business has become her family’s main source of income.

“My quality of life has changed. I am also saving even more than I used to save last year.”

Lonah’s family is no longer on a restrictive diet: They can buy all the nutritious food they need. “Before, I used to buy smaller food, which my family shared once a day. Now, sometimes I eat and I almost feel like dying because I am so full!”

Running a business while caring for her household and family is challenging: Lonah’s long day starts with caring for her daughter and preparing food for breakfast and lunch while her husband goes to work. Then she pulls out her sewing machine. On a typical day, she sews clothes until dinner time, making about three children’s dresses or one and a half shirts or dresses for adults. Finally, she prepares dinner, cleans the home, bathes her daughter, and puts her to bed.

Lonah describes herself as a people pleaser: She loves to do things for others, including her family and friends. “I am working so hard so that I can have my own home and so that my child can be happy.”

But she still makes time for fun: “Once everything is done at work, if I want to be happy, I like to go and visit friends and we love to eat, drink, and have fun together.”

Lonah is determined to expand her business. One challenge she’s facing as a new business owner is limited capital. So far, she has completely bootstrapped her business without significant investment capital beyond the money she has diligently saved.

But as her business grows, her needs are changing. Sometimes, when customers come to place an order, she does not have the color of fabric they want in stock, but she has already invested her money into other fabrics. She is excited to take a loan from BRAC’s affordable microloan offerings so that she can stock more fabrics, attract more customers, and take on more orders.

Lonah also wants to rent a larger home or a separate room to accommodate her growing business. Currently, she sews right outside of her rented home, because there’s not enough space inside for her to sew with her machine. When the sun is hot or the rain is pouring, she is forced to work through it, or lose out on valuable hours of work.

She dreams of having a storefront where customers can all come in and shop, and where she can work indoors no matter the weather. She’s already a fashion designer, but she wants to continue allowing her creativity to flourish and become a fashion inspiration for others. “I want to be a fashion designer, so that I can even dress brides and grooms!”

Although Lonah and her peers have graduated from their local AIM club, she continues to keep in touch with the girls who have become her closest friends. Her business is continuing to expand, and Lonah continues to set aside more money each week to save for her goals. She has even doubled her savings rate since graduating from the AIM program!

“I want to keep some money so that when my daughter starts going to school, I have the money,” Lonah said. “I also don’t want to be renting: I want to build a home for my family by the time she starts school.”

Lonah is well on track to achieve her dreams.

Young people like Lonah are full of potential: They just need the opportunity to realize it. Join us in helping youth like Lonah build skills to power their futures.

Sarah Allen is Communications Manager at BRAC USA.

2024-08-23

BRAC responds as catastrophic floods strike Bangladesh

BRAC teams are responding to support families impacted by catastrophic flooding in Bangladesh.

BY MICA BEVINGTON

In Hathazari, Chattogram, in southern Bangladesh, emergency relief teams are shoulder to shoulder, preparing relief kits for 500 families trapped by floodwaters. The families are sheltering in nearby buildings, including schools.

Bangladesh has been hit by a catastrophic disaster.

BRAC has deployed 5,000 field staff in response to some of the worst flooding in the country’s history. Teams are encountering acute needs amid floods that stretch dangerously across 11 districts. At least 15 people have lost their lives, and almost 900,000 families are reported to be trapped by floodwaters.

People need help evacuating to safe places, and temporary shelter items, such as tents. Other needs include dry food and drinking water, medical support, menstrual hygiene kits, water purification tablets, and food for livestock.

“In the past 38 years, the people of this region have never faced such catastrophic flooding, nor witnessed floodwaters rising to these unprecedented levels,” says Khondoker Tawhid, Program Head of BRAC’s Disaster Risk Management Program. “Thousands of individuals in remote and inaccessible areas remain stranded, many of them forced to seek refuge on the rooftops of their homes. The urgent priority is to evacuate these individuals to safe shelters and provide them with essential food and water. However, our field teams are encountering significant obstacles in communicating with flood victims and delivering aid, as road networks are entirely submerged, electricity has been cut off, mobile networks are disrupted, and there is a shortage of boats.”

In Khagrachari, BRAC is taking boats house to house, delivering food, safe water and essential medicines.

“The weather forecast for Feni shows the situation is hopefully going to improve — but even if it does, the need for longer-term recovery and rehabilitation is going to be massive,” Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh, wrote on LinkedIn. “Bangladesh will need to stand united.”

BRAC offices have been inundated with water. Twenty offices, and six informal education centers are damaged.

Tawhid’s teams are undeterred. He says, “Despite these critical challenges, we are committed to providing lifesaving support — distributing dry and cooked food, water, and other essentials to those we can reach. To date, we have provided assistance to over 9,000 families with food and water. Our efforts will continue, focusing on food distribution, shelter reconstruction, water and sanitation initiatives, and livelihood restoration as soon as conditions allow.”

BRAC has released approximately $250,000 of its emergency reserve funding to power the first phase of its response. So far, teams have distributed 8,500 packets of dry food, and are working on ways to support medium and long-term rehabilitation efforts for those affected.

Global appeal for donations

BRAC has launched a global appeal for donations to support families as they navigate the crisis. Make your secure online gift to support people in need today. Donors based in Bangladesh can make donations here.

$20 can support a family’s most basic needs for two weeks.
$635 will help a family rebuild their house.
$340 will help repair a damaged tube well.
$340 will aid the reconstruction of a latrine.

Donate to Bangladesh appeal

Mica Bevington is Director of Communications at BRAC USA.

2024-08-12

International Youth Day: Angelique finds her stride in Rwanda

As we celebrate International Youth Day — a day dedicated to the boundless potential of young people — we turn the spotlight on Angelique, who is building friendships and planning for a brighter future in Rwanda.

BY MEGHAN MCLAUGHLIN

Originally from Rwanda’s Eastern Province, 24-year-old Angelique moved to the Southern Province with her husband, Francois, and their two-year-old daughter, Scovia, in search of new beginnings.

Angelique hoped this new start would open doors for her family. When Angelique was young, her path was filled with challenges. She had to drop out of secondary school due to financial hardships. Without health insurance, she couldn’t access the care she needed when she fell ill.

Despite taking on jobs as a casual laborer, Angelique struggled to make ends meet, and financial independence seemed out of reach. With no steady income or family and friends nearby for support, she felt isolated and increasingly uncertain about her future.

Everything changed when she joined her local youth empowerment club through Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in partnership with BRAC (AIM). Here, Angelique learned the value of saving and gained access to financial resources. She now earns around 1,000 Rwandan Francs from casual work and saves 200 Francs each week in her local village savings group.

“I always had to ask my husband for money, even to buy salt,” she recalls. “I didn’t know about savings, but now I save a portion of my earnings,” she says, beaming with pride.

The club also taught Angelique about family planning and preparing for the future, helping her focus on her daughter’s education and better living conditions. The most transformative aspect was the sense of community she found with friends and a mentor who share similar challenges. Now she has a support network of young women.

When I asked Angelique if she wanted to take a photo with a friend from the club, she enthusiastically reached for her mentor and AIM club leader.

With newfound independence and self-esteem, Angelique has big ambitions. She dreams of starting her own business, raising livestock, and ultimately building a home. “Now I have goals and a vision for my future,” she says. “I feel able, like I can.”

Angelique’s participation in her local youth empowerment club has been life-changing. The social interactions and knowledge she has gained have been invaluable. “I love socializing and the savings group activities. Learning to save money makes me proud,” she notes.

Members of Angelique’s AIM club proudly show that empowered women are strong women.

Angelique’s journey is a testament to the incredible potential that lies within young people across the Global South. BRAC’s youth empowerment programs, which combine social and economic empowerment with education, are crucial in helping individuals like Angelique overcome barriers and achieve their dreams. As she looks ahead to the possibility of small loans to start her business, Angelique embodies the spirit of International Youth Day—celebrating the power and promise of youth.

Having completed the first phase of the AIM program — social empowerment — Angelique is now poised to begin the next chapter: economic empowerment. We can’t wait to see where her journey takes her next!