Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief

Bangladesh often requires humanitarian assistance during and after the occurrence of disasters due to various factors.
Firstly, the country is prone to natural disasters like floods, cyclones, and riverbank erosion, causing widespread devastation and displacements. These disasters impact millions, destroying homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods, leading to an urgent need for aid.
Secondly, the densely populated and low-lying geography exacerbates the impact of these disasters, leaving a significant portion of the population vulnerable and in need of external support. Additionally, socio-economic challenges, including poverty and limited access to resources in certain regions, make it difficult for affected communities to recover independently.
The Rohingya refugee crisis has added immense strain, with over a million refugees seeking shelter in Bangladesh, stretching the country’s resources and infrastructure.
Moreover, inadequate healthcare facilities and sanitation systems often pose health risks during crises, demanding immediate humanitarian aid to prevent outbreaks of diseases. The complex and interconnected nature of these challenges necessitates humanitarian assistance to address the multifaceted needs of the affected population.

Response to COVID-19

Amidst the global challenges posed by the outbreak of COVID-19, Social Aid took a proactive and comprehensive approach to address the pandemic, particularly within the diverse communities of Cox’s Bazar. Recognizing the cultural and religious dynamics, our response aimed to prevent the spread of the virus through targeted behaviour change campaigns among the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim communities. The initiative to respond against the pandemic encompassed a multifaceted package, integrating preventive, protective, and curative interventions to tackle the challenges presented by COVID-19. With a commitment to inclusivity, our initiatives were designed to be gender-inclusive and socially inclusive, ensuring that the most marginalized minority groups received the support they needed during these unprecedented times.
The voluntary approaches undertaken at that time, included spraying disinfectant, fostering awareness regarding social distancing, advocating for the use of masks, emphasizing handwashing, and promoting respiratory hygiene. Also, with a view to extending the efforts, we had distributed stickers to raise awareness regarding coronavirus.

Winter Aid

Winter aid is crucial in Bangladesh due to its subtropical climate, where the winter season brings cold temperatures, especially in the northern regions. Many vulnerable communities in Bangladesh lack adequate resources to cope with the cold, leading to health issues like pneumonia and respiratory diseases among children and the elderly. Additionally, impoverished families often struggle to afford warm clothing, blankets, and heating fuel during the winter months.

Social Aid’s Winter Aid program provides essential support by distributing warm clothing and blankets to those in need, offering comfort during the colder months. Our initiatives aim to alleviate the conditions of not only the poor but also the Rohingya refugees and the host communities.
Ultimately, the winter aid efforts play a vital role in safeguarding the health and well-being of communities in Bangladesh during the colder months.

Response to cyclones

In 2023, following the successive cyclones Mocha and Hamoon, Social Aid swiftly executed a targeted crisis response in the Cox’s Bazar district and St. Martin Island of Bangladesh. The emergency relief packages encompassed vital food provisions and comprehensive hygiene kits. These kits were meticulously curated to include essential items such as soaps, detergents, and specifically tailored sanitary napkins for female beneficiaries. This intervention aimed not only to address immediate nutritional needs but also to ensure the preservation of hygiene and dignity among the affected populations.

Orphan Aid

There are over 5.0 million orphaned children in Bangladesh. Most orphans grow up in poverty, hunger, deprivation, misery and suffering. Widowed mothers or relatives who raise orphans are very poor and live below the poverty line. As the price of daily essentials has increased by 30–62 percent, many of these families do not have access to adequate food. Because of the lack of variety in the food they eat, it is a threat to children’s physical growth, development and wellbeing. With the financial support from our partners, Social Aid has distributed food aid to orphans’ families on a monthly basis for the duration of six months from 2021 to 2022. The distribution events took place six times benefitting orphans’ families with food parcels in each round of distribution