After Cyclone Sidr - Plan's response programme

A Plan staff member gives a personal account of his visit to see Plan's Cyclone Sidr Response Programme, which is helping children in affected areas of Bangladesh return to education and a normal life.

Barguna District in south central Bangladesh was one of the areas most damaged by Tropical Cyclone Sidr, which made landfall in southern Bangladesh on the evening of November 15, 2007.

Within 48 hours of Sidr’s landfall, Plan had completed a needs assessment and initiated an emergency response programme, reaching out to 10,000 families (approximately 50,000 people) with the distribution of food and other needed items.

Plan also mobilised quickly to establish Shishu Kendro (Child Centres) — safe areas for children to play, socialise and have a meal following the disruptions of the cyclone.

Frank Manfredi, a Plan Global Disaster Risk Reduction and Program Development Officer, has just returned from Bangladesh where he was visiting the response programme:

"We traveled to Barguna on December 10, 2007, visiting the two Plan SK Centres and one Non-Food Item distribution centre.

Along the way, we saw communities that had passed through the crisis phase and were rebuilding their lives. The drive south from Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, to Barguna takes approximately 8-9 hours and includes four ferry rides.

As we traveled south, signs of storm damage became apparent: a flattened house, crumpled billboard, or stretch of downed trees by the roadside. In Plan’s recovery programme area in Barguna Sadar and Chowra Unions, the signs of storm damage were unmistakable, with people cobbling together temporary shelters from tarps and pieces of their destroyed or damaged homes. 

The SK centres have proved to be tremendously popular. While originally planned to accommodate approximately 100 children each, the centres are now each registering between 150 and 175 children in attendance.

Though officially operating between 10:00am and 1:00pm, activities were in full-swing when we arrived just after 9:00am. Children were lined up for a sing-along, with volunteers leading the group in singing and clapping. Other activities included group games such as “cat-and-mouse” (a form of tag), rope jumping, soccer and story-telling.

Later in the morning, we visited a distribution centre that was providing packages for 560 families in Chowra Union. These packages contain items including women's and children’s clothing, blankets, matches and candles, soap, and drawing/play materials for children.

The emergency phase is now winding down and people are looking forward to the hard work of rehabilitation and reconstruction. Plan is currently developing its early recovery programme focusing on getting children back to school (focusing on school repair and reconstruction) and re-establishing community water and sanitation systems.

We look forward to sharing more information about the programme as it develops and is implemented."