Help The Aged Calls For 500,000 Pounds To Help Older People In Bangladesh Recover From "Forgotten Tsunami"

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Also Included In: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 19 Feb 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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The devastation and suffering in Bangladesh caused by Cyclone SIDR are similar to the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, but three months on, leading older people's charities are warning that funds for rehabilitation for survivors of this second Asian disaster are insufficient for the scale of the calamity.

Today Help the Aged and HelpAge International announced that they have been able to directly meet the immediate needs of 5,000 older people and their families. The organisations have also ensured through work with other charities that half of the older people affected by the 15th November cyclone received targeted assistance. However, thousands are still in need of resources to rebuild homes, health, and livelihoods.

Elizabeth Coates, Head of International Affairs at Help the Aged said:

"A quarter of those still displaced are older people. Many do not receive financial help of any kind, and are relying on extended family and neighbours for shelter, or are even sleeping in the ruins of their homes. At the same time many are having to care for children, although their foodstocks and crops have been wiped out."

Looking to the future, Richard Blewitt, Chief Executive Officer of HelpAge International said:

"Working in partnership with the Bangladesh Resource Integration Centre (RIC), we have been establishing Older People's Associations to provide support in times of need. They are well placed to identify risks, available resources and what might be needed to reduce the risk of disaster in the future."

Older People's Associations (OPAs) set up before the cyclone as part of Help the Aged and HelpAge International's ongoing support for the over-60s in southern Bangladesh were able to play an active part in conveying early warnings about SIDR, saving thousands of lives. In the immediate wake of the cyclone the OPAs identified vulnerable older people and ensured that they were able to access relief. Now they are arranging healthcare and counselling for trauma, and providing assistance with replacement seeds and seedling for crops wiped out by the cyclone. They are also helping older people access any state benefits available that can help get them back on their feet.

Lila Bishwash, President of the Kathalia village Older People's Association, explains how support from Help the Aged and HelpAge International has increased her financial independence, social standing, and resilience in the face of disaster:

"Before joining the OPA we didn't have access to state pensions or widows' allowances. Now half of our members receive allowances. Those who are getting allowances get extra care and respect from family members. The monthly allowance of 220 taka ($3.00) can be used on household items such as clothes or medicines. Some even use it to take out leases on land.

"I use my pension to make Hogla mats. In October, a month before the cyclone, I spent 2500 taka on a land lease to grow the hogla. From that I will make 200 mats, which I will sell in the market for 40 taka each. The cyclone has prevented us making mats as we have been too busy clearing the destruction to make mats."

Help the Aged