Canada is providing over CAD 292,500, or over Tk 1.76 crore to the people affected by Cyclone Roanu to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible.
Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Benoît-Pierre Laramée announced on Sunday that the grant is being provided through two organizations.
“Cyclone Roanu is a reminder of the precariousness of the lives of many of the people of that district,” said Laramée.
He hoped that Canada’s support will allow people to get back on their feet as soon as possible, and continue building better futures for their children, themselves, and their country.
The organizations chosen to implement programmes under the grant are Plan International and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The bulk of the cash, CAD 262,500 or over Tk 1.5 crore of the grant will go to Plan, in support of the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services for up to 5,373 people in Bhola District.
Th project will be implemented through South Asia Partnership Bangladesh. The CAD 30,000 grant, just under Tk 20 lakh, to the IFRC will help provide cash grants, emergency shelter, and safe drinking water to approximately 2,500 people.
The diplomat said he had the privilege of travelling to Bhola and Barisal just days before Cyclone Roanu.
While there, he met with many remarkable individuals, and was particularly impressed by the determination of the people of those areas to provide a better future for their children, including by ending the harmful practice of child marriage.
Cyclone Roanu struck the coast of Bangladesh on May 21 and has affected more than 1.2 million people.
The government, UN agencies and local NGOs have already started providing humanitarian assistance.
