When Cyclone Sidr struck the southwestern region of Bangladesh on the dreadful night of 15 November, 2007, 85-year-old Oazed Mridha Fakir and his wife Anwara Begum, 50, were among the 8.9 million people affected.
Living in the Moheshkatha village of Patuakhali, a district devastated by Sidr, this impoverished couple recalls the horror of that night when their lives changed forever.
"When Sidr struck my village, I did not want to leave my home. My wife had to drag me away and we took refuge in a neighbour's house only to come back and see that my house was completely mangled under a big tree," recalls Oazed. "With the loss of my home and livestock, my wife suffered an emotional breakdown and has not been the same since."
Recovery operation
With no means to earn a daily income, the couple has been living in a makeshift home for more than a year, depending on others' help. Recently, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) gave this family a shelter, as part of the Cyclone Sidr recovery operation.
"After a long trial of fate, I'm finally relieved now," says Oazed. "The first thing I did upon entering my new home was to bring out all my belongings from my temporary storage and place them where they belonged. From now on, I'll be able to sleep peacefully as the rain will not soak us through and the chill of the nights will not make me continually sick.
"Now my house is a lot stronger and I know it won't fall apart every time a cyclone comes. Most importantly, I don't have to live in other people's houses any more."
Cyclone-resistant
A total of 1,250 similar brand-new cyclone-resistant shelters are being provided to the most vulnerable families in the four districts worst affected by Sidr.
As Renu, a 45-year old widow, stood inside the frame of her new home, she expressed a similar sense of relief. "After my house is completed, I can stop being a burden to my brother's household," she says.
"My 13-year-old son lost his father when he was only one-year-old. Now he will have a stable home and family life."
House of her own
Majeda, a 40 -year old neighbour, spoke on behalf of the entire community when she said, "If it wasn't for the Red Cross Red Crescent, Renu would never have been able to have a house of her own."
When asked what would be the very first thing she would do upon entering her new house, Renu replied that she would hold a small milaad mehfil, a religious and social gathering to share her happiness with her family and friends.
The householders will also receive safe shelter awareness training, a toolkit and enough cash to purchase construction materials and expand their homes.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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