When waters rise: food relief for flooded Bangladeshi villages

When waters rise:

food relief for flooded Bangladeshi villages

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News reports have suggested that Bangladesh is experiencing its worst flooding in years. BMS’ grant will provide emergency food relief for hundreds in need.

Thanks to the generous giving of BMS supporters, and the heart of Bangladeshi Christians who have mobilised to help those in need, an emergency BMS grant has been approved to sustain 200 families facing food insecurity due to flooding.

Bangladesh is reportedly experiencing its worst flooding in years, with tens of thousands of people having been displaced. Bangladesh’s monsoon season can often pose a flood risk to the low-lying country, where heavy rains see rivers swelling to dangerous levels. The erosion and bursting of riverbanks in recent weeks, coupled with adverse landslides, have left an estimated 4 million people at risk of “food insecurity and disease”.

Waters flooding market stalls with a man looking on in Bangladesh
Flood waters in Bangladesh in 2009 going up as high as the windows.

BMS has provided several grants for flood relief, including after flooding in 2007 and 2009, pictured here. While Bangladesh is known for its habitual flooding, more extreme flood events are a worrying trend.

The BMS Disaster Recovery fund allows local Christians and trusted partners to mobilise when disasters like these strike. Because of generous past giving from BMS supporters, a £5,000 grant was swiftly approved, allowing quick-thinking Bangladeshi Christians to jump into action.

The BMS grant will fund a programme of food distribution for 200 families from three different communities: the Sreemongal, Manikgonj and Shirajgonj communities. Led by the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS), the food packages will be distributed from local church centres by pastors. They contain rice, salt, dhal*, sugar, oil, chira* and waterproof matches, sustaining around 800 people for a week and a half – some of whom have not eaten in days.

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“The families come from varying religious backgrounds, but are known to the Bangladeshi churches which are distributing aid,” explain BMS workers Louise and Peter Lynch, who work closely with the BBCS. “There are pastors on the ground who can assess what needs to happen,” says Peter. “There are people without any food because they’ve got nothing left. But the BBCS can go out and get food for the programme, knowing support is backed up by BMS.”

The emergency kits contain:

30kg of rice and 2kg of salt

3kg of dhal* (a staple Bangladeshi dish made of lentils or other split pulses)

2kg of sugar, 5 litres of oil, 400g of chira* (a flat rice that is easy to prepare and digest)

and 6 packets of waterproof matches for 200 families

A man carrying a calf through flood waters in Bangladesh.
Two men wading through a flooded river in Bangladesh.

These concerning images have come from the Sreemongal, Manikgonj and Shirajgonj communities which the BBCS is now able to help.

If you’ve given to BMS’ Disaster Recovery fund, you’ve not only supported Bangladeshi families after dangerous floods. You’ve also provided vital psychosocial first aid to victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, shored up a hospital during hurricane season in Haiti, and much more. Thank you for all you’ve done.

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Christians believe in a God whose Son walked on water. So when floodwaters rise, we can trust in his power, goodness and might. Join us in praying for:

  • Bangladeshi communities in danger or at risk of disease because of flooding, that they would be kept safe.
  • Those who are hungry, that food would be provided. Pray especially for those receiving food through the BMS grant, that it would reach those who need it most.
  • Peter and Louise Lynch, the BBCS, and the pastors who have been able to help families after the floods. Give thanks for their generous hearts, and pray for wisdom and strength to know how to best help those in need.
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Words by Hannah Watson, Editor of Engage magazine.

Sri Lanka Bombings: the Christians responding with love

Sri Lanka Bombings

the Christians responding with love

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You’re helping Christians in Sri Lanka recover from the devastating Easter Sunday bombings, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Please keep showing love to those caught up in disasters by giving to BMS disaster recovery ministries today.

Six bombs exploded across Sri Lanka three weeks ago, as Christians gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday. The attack was targeted and lethal. More than 250 people were killed and over 500 injured. Churches and hotels were reduced to rubble. On what should have been a day of great celebration, thousands of people were left grieving.

candles in memory of the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday bombings

The horrific bombings in Sri Lanka left the Christian world reeling. But your generous giving has already empowered local people to help in practical ways. You’ve provided £10,000 to support communities now and for the coming years – and you didn’t even know it.

Your gifts have already enabled our partners in Sri Lanka to offer psychosocial care to hurting communities, shelter to refugees and medical supplies to wounded people in hospital. It’s the help they really needed, at the time they needed it.

When you and your church give to support BMS disaster recovery ministries, you’re enabling us to respond to future disasters, as well as helping people affected by what’s in our headlines now. You’re giving in faith and sowing hope – responding before it happens and enabling local Christians’ love to be practical and timely. And to meet real needs, even invisible ones.

The emotional damage caused by disasters can be catastrophic. Working with local churches, our trusted partners on the ground are caring for children and families directly affected by the attacks. Teams of volunteers have been trained to help children in hospitals, through play and art therapy, to begin to cope with the awful things they’ve seen. And they’ll be cared for when they return home too, by teams of people we call ‘Befrienders’. Befrienders are specially trained to work in schools and communities and provide psychological care and emotional support. By making these teams possible, you’ve helped vulnerable children feel safe again. Together, we’re bringing hope to survivors who felt they’d lost everything.

If you’ve ever given to support our relief work, thank you. You’ve helped people like Sri Lanka’s Christians, perhaps without even knowing it. When you support BMS disaster recovery ministries, you’re responding before a disaster happens. Today you could be helping survivors of a terror attack, tomorrow those affected by climate change and natural disasters.

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The easiest thing to do after reading this would be to give thanks and click away. But the better thing to do would be to a take a moment and make a donation. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but we can help Christians around the world to be prepared, when they need it most.

Winter is coming

Ukraine:

Winter is coming

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It’s getting cold in Ukraine. Because of the ongoing conflict, thousands of people have fled from their homes. With winter on its way, BMS World Mission is working to provide heating for families displaced by the fighting.

The temperature’s starting to drop. Soon, frost will cover the ground. The heating will be switched on. But for people in eastern Ukraine, ways of keeping warm have been taken away.

Along the boundary lines of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine, tension between pro-Russian separatists and pro-Ukrainian groups has caused violent unrest for the past three years, and there are no signs of it stopping. Parts of these regions are now controlled by the separatists, with the Ukrainian government suspending support to the area. As a result, people are without hot water. The central heating no longer works. Coal, gas and electricity are becoming increasingly more expensive, with many people unable to pay their energy bills. And with extreme winter conditions on the way, being able to stay warm is vital for families in Ukraine to survive the next few months.

Rachel Conway-Doel, our Relief Facilitator, talks about the crisis in Ukraine and what you can be praying for.

Last year, Sergey, an elderly man living amidst the fighting, had the wall of his home heavily damaged. Not only did this let in the freezing cold, but it caused his heating system to break. BMS helped to fix the wall, and a ceramic heating panel was installed in his house, replacing the broken system. Because of your support, Sergey was able to live through the winter.

Along with local partners, last year BMS also helped another family with three young children, who had their central heating stop because energy to the building had been cut off. They weren’t able to leave the area because they were looking after their elderly parents. A ceramic heater was installed at their house, meaning they could keep looking after their parents and stay warm during the winter too. This year, thanks to your giving, we are able to help again.

Two million people are estimated to be living close to the boundary line of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with a further two million people estimated to be living in the non-government controlled area. In a crisis of this scale, we’re committed to helping Ukrainians keep warm this winter.

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Working with local partners, BMS is helping one thousand people affected by this terrible conflict. We’re providing water heaters, which will give families and internally displaced people access to hot water. Ceramic heaters, coal and firewood are being given as ways for families to heat their homes. And we’re helping children receive thermal underwear, meaning they can stay warm while they sleep.

Because of your giving, Ukrainian families will stay warm and survive the winter this year, amidst the ongoing fighting. If you want to help continue BMS’ disaster recovery work, enabling us to support those trapped in wars, conflicts and natural disasters, consider giving today.