Students and Caritas help flood victims in Jamalpur

The kids from Notre Dame College Mymensingh raised funds in their classrooms. According to government sources, 132 schools have been closed in Jamalpur due to flooding. Many roads are under water.

Jamalpur (AsiaNews) –  Heavy rains in recent months have caused flooding, especially in Jamalpur, a region about 140 km north of the capital Dhaka. As a result, crops and homes have been damaged or destroyed, forcing thousands to live outdoors.

Last Friday, 300 flood victims received help from Notre Dame College Mymensingh and the Caritas Mymensingh regional office. "We visited flood victims in Jamalpur to help them and we saw that their situation was worse,” Father Placid Proshanto Rozario, director and teacher at the Notre Dame Mymensingh College, told AsiaNews.

“In some areas, they did not get any help from the government.” However, “I am grateful to our students who have offered assistance,” Fr Placid added. In fact, many kids have raised funds in their classrooms and most students have responded to the request by making a contribution.

"We have provided a package containing rice, pulse, oil, salt, etc., at a cost of 600 takas (US$ 7.5). We have handed out a total of 300 packages. The regional office of Caritas Mymensingh pitched in as well."

A 60-year-old Muslim woman, Anjumanara Begum, who received help, talked about her suffering from the flood. "We lost all the crops. All the cattle are dead. We are going through the worst situation in our lives. We have no food, no medicines. We have not seen any government official to give us any help."

She said she received a package that will be very useful to her family. She is deeply grateful to Notre Dame College Mymensingh and Caritas Mymensingh. Like her, other flood victims, including Muslims, have expressed gratitude to the Church.

According to government sources, 132 schools have closed in Jamalpur alone because of flooding. Many roads are still under water.

"We have been distributing aid among flood victims,” said Ahmmaed Kabir, deputy commissar of Jamalpur. “We distributed 90 tonnes of rice and 11,000 dried food packages."

• bangladesh
• jamalpur
• caritas
• heavy rains
• notre dame college mymensingh
• placid proshanto rozario