Although Plan programme areas are not affected by the emergency, Plan is responding to provide aid in the worst-hit regions.
The super cyclone Sidr has left behind a trail of devastation: houses, schools and government buildings destroyed, trees uprooted, crops flattened, livestock dead, water supplies contaminated, and road links disrupted.
Survivors and rescuers in the six worst-hit districts - Bagerhat, Barguna, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barisal and Jhalakathi - have been burying their loved ones. Communications and utility services remain disrupted and aid workers and rescuers are struggling to reach survivors in most of the affected areas.
Plan's response
Plan's assessment team reports that:
Children and women are most affected
Of the total lives lost, over 40% are children
Children as well as adults are in a state of shock from the overwhelming physical destruction
However, morale is high among children and the general population
The most affected are children under five years old, pregnant and lactating women, and the elderly. It is thought that of the surviving children, many are now orphans.
Food, clean water and shelter are the basic requirements at this time as well as medical supplies, but within the next month, there will be a need for health services, education, livelihood support, agriculture and livestock replenishment, and trauma management.
Our intervention will target 50,000 people, including women and children, living in Barisal, Barguna and Patuakhali districts, which faced the eye of the storm when it made landfall.
Plan's activities will include:
* Distribution of food to households in each affected community using local community infrastructure
* Distribution of non-food household kits, which include plastic sheeting, blankets, soap, kitchen equipment and utensils so that families can cook and protect themselves from the weather
* Mobilisation of community members to dig temporary sanitation facilities to avoid further contamination of water supplies and the spread of water borne diseases
* Provision of medical supplies
* Distribution of locally procured shelter material and non-food items (cooking utensils, water purification tablets, hygiene items, zinc sheeting, timber and construction materials)
* Training in psychosocial support for school teachers to provide support to children
* Coordination with other partners in order to reduce duplication, better identify gaps and provide greater coverage
Help us assist those affected
Plan has launched an appeal to help families affected by the cyclone. Please donate to our emergency appeal by making a secure online donation at www.plan-uk.org or by calling 020 7482 9777.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
