Bishops’ Appeal approves emergency aid for Bangladesh
At a recent meeting of the Bishop's Appeal €20,000 was approved as an emergency grant for relief work in Bangladesh. Earlier this month Cyclone Sidr struck the western coast of Bangladesh, which is near the border with India. Floodwaters rose and as a result over 1,000 people have died, 15,000 injured and some 1,000 are listed as missing, with the final number affected expected to rise when access has been gained to the remote villages which remain cut off.
The rice crops, usually harvested in December, have been lost and 150 fishing boats are missing, presumably the fishermen were caught up in the storm and unable to return to land. Bangladesh is no stranger to cyclones, two of the most memorable being in 1970 and 1991 when the death tolls were in the hundreds of thousands.
The Bishops' Appeal gives aid under four main headings:
Emergency relief and special appeals
Sustainable agriculture and rural development
Health - including HIV/AIDS programmes
Education
The Bishops' Appeal committee makes emergency grants at times of suffering during emergences which occur naturally, or are man made. It does not engage directly in development work but channel funds through development agencies that are already in place in the areas of need. For more information on the Bishop's Appeal contact Martin O'Connor, Education Adviser - email bishopsappeal@ireland.anglican.org