Shuheb’s Blog II – paving ways back into a life of dignity

Shuheb’s Blog II – paving ways back into a life of dignity

Part I |

Sunday 21st December

We took yet another form of transport in the shape of a boat ride – the only mode of transport that could take us to our destination. A revitalised group of four activists sat eagerly with the images of the pervious day vivid in our minds. Koyra’s beautiful view was painful. The river was a breath-taking view, now home to a site that once brought so much of horror, fear and broken dreams. We visited areas that were struck severely by Cyclone Alia in 2009.Men in orange visors with the letter “CCP” printed on the back meant we were privileged to meet one of the most important teams on the land we just set our feet on – the Cyclone Preparedness Programme. A team of 4 four volunteers trained to alert the village of any imminent disasters. A short demo explained that the number of flags reflected the seriousness of the disaster and a series of instructions re-emphasised information already taught to the community. Since this was just a demo, the people obviously didn’t react, however we were informed that they would seek the nearest cyclone shelter provided by IR and take with them essentials including any medicine, dried food and portable ovens (provided by Islamic Relief).

Amongst the many projects we visited, the livelihood projects not only intrigued me the most but it also had me most curious before the onset of the visit. We witnessed a number of large fishery projects with a number of boats too, and also huge fields of vegetation – all provided by Islamic relief. Not only a valuable source of income, but also providing food for the village.