"We desperately need food"

More than 500,000 Rohingyas have crossed the Myanmar border and taken refuge in Bangladesh. New arrivals are seeking food and drinking water, access to health care, among other vital needs. Among them are Monowara and her family who have sought safety in a makeshift camp in Bangladesh.

“We live in a shelter made from bamboo and plastic sheets,” Monowara explains. “We arrived on September 3 and built it ourselves using the materials we had on hand.” Handicap International teams have been working in two refugee camps, makeshift shelters, and host communities in the Teknaf and Ukhiya districts of Cox’s Bazar, which is where we met Monowara.

The young woman in her thirties has three children and is pregnant with her fourth. “I need medical attention, but I can’t reach the hospital,” she continues. “Since we’ve been in the camp, we’ve been short of food and drinking water because humanitarian organizations don’t distribute enough. We desperately need food, but we also need clothes and somewhere safe for the children.”

Handicap International and the Rohingya crisis

Since August 30, our teams have been providing humanitarian assistance to nearly 10,000 refugees. Thus far, we've accomplished the following:

• Conducted interviews with more than 3,000 people and identified their needs through door-to-door surveys 
• Provided emergency psychological support to more than 2,000 people 
• Organized nearly 400 rehabilitation sessions and handed out 160 mobility aids, including wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers
• Provided psychosocial support to more than 300 adults and more than 350 children

In order to meet the growing needs of the 15,000 Rohingyas arriving in Bangladesh each day, HI plans to expand our emergency response.