Ayesha Begum is 22 years old. In early September, she and her three children took refuge in Bangladesh after her husband was killed in Myanmar. Today, Ayesha and her children live with her brothers in a temporary shelter on the edge of Kutupalong camp. She takes part in a parents’ club organized by HI, which provides psychosocial support to mothers living as refugees.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 25 from neighboring Myanmar. Our team is on the ground, providing emergency aid to Rohingya refugees who, having escaped, now live in utter destitution. Gilles Nouziès, HI's head of programs in Asia travelled to Bangladesh to organize activities with our teams. He explains what he saw and what HI is doing to help.

After more than a week in the field, what can you share about the humanitarian crisis facing the Rohingya?

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 25 from neighboring Myanmar. Our team is on the ground, providing emergency aid to Rohingya refugees who, having escaped, now live in utter destitution.

The following speech was given on Oct. 23, by Ludovic Bourbé, Director of the Development Division, Handicap International Federation, on the occasion of the Pledging Conference for the Rohingya Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. 

More than 500,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since the end of August from neighboring Myanmar. Handicap International is stepping up its humanitarian aid effort in response to this crisis, which is unprecedented in the region. Since August 25, the organization has already supplied humanitarian assistance to 15,000 people. Nearly 700 people have already been given rehabilitation care, 4,000 have received emergency psychological support, and we have recorded nearly 6,000 extremely vulnerable individuals.

Zibon Sona is an 80 year old widow. She was forced to leave Myanmar in September 2017 and has sought refuge in an improvised refugee camp in Bangladesh. Due to a physical disability, she is unable to move from her canvas shelter and is reliant on her daughter for basic care.

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.

Since the end of August, nearly 400,000 Rohingyas have crossed the Myanmar border and taken refuge in Bangladesh. Joining the estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Rohingyas present in the country, the new arrivals need food and drinking water, access to sanitary facilities, health care, rehabilitation sessions, and other accommodations. Handicap International is responding to this emergency by supplying aid to families with acute needs.

As part of the Growing Together project, supported by the IKEA Foundation, Handicap International promotes early detection, stimulation, and rehabilitation sessions for children to prevent the onset of disabilities and improve their living conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Pakistan. Our teams teach parents, caregivers, and community volunteers how to stimulate young children and promote healthy habits through play and daily activities.

Humanity & Inclusion is committed to supporting people who are fleeing conflict and natural disaster. Whether they are sheltering within their own countries or residing in countries of first asylum as refugees, our teams are hard at work providing basic and specific aid to people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Read about our work with refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) as well as our other projects in the 11 countries below.

This life-saving work is possible thanks to the generous support of our donors, as well as key funding agencies such as the U.S. Department of State, IKEA Foundation, among others.

Humanity & Inclusion is an impartial, international aid organization, and we act where needs are greatest. We do not work on refugee resettlement.