Muslim Aid helps Bangladesh to set example in Disaster Management

To commemorate the anniversary of Cyclone Sidr which struck Bangladesh on 15th November 2007, Muslim Aid Bangladesh Field Office arranged a seminar entitled 'Cyclone and Bangladesh' at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Friday November 14th 2007. The seminar discussed how Bangladesh has set an example to the global community for its efforts in disaster management after devastating Cyclone Sidr killed over 3,500 people and destroyed millions of homes and crops.

Bangladesh Planning Commission member Ehsanul Fattah was present as chief guest. The Muslim Aid Bangladesh Country Director, H Fadlullah Wilmot chaired the seminar while the Disaster Management Bureau director, M Abu Sadeque, presented the keynote pape. The IUCN Country Director, Ainun Nishat, and the Disaster Management Bureau Director General, KH Masud Siddiqui, and former secretary of the Disaster Management Ministry Mazharul Haque were present as special guests.

Discussing Cyclone Sidr, the speakers said that the country had made great progress considering so many lives were lost and millions of homes and infrastructure were destroyed due to the storm. They also mentioned that the cyclone had taught people how to survive during natural disasters. Fadlullah Willmot said that Muslim Aid’s rehabilitation and reconstruction work had also helped the survivors to rebuild their lives. KH Masud Siddiqui , the Director General of the Disaster Management Bureau, mentioned how appreciative the government of Bangladesh was that Muslim Aid, in partnership with ECHO and FAO, helped the survivors of Cyclone Sidr, including non-Muslims in the true spirit of Islam.

Disaster management is not only the distribution of relief but the rehabilitation of affected areas so that people are able to go about their normal lives through the provision of schools, shelters, mosques but also to provide them with livelihoods to get them back on their feet in order to be self sustainable.

To read more about our work post Cyclone Sidr, click here

To read more about our Bangladesh Field Office, click here