Mon 30 Jul 2007
Families move on rafts from their waterlogged homes in Sirajganj, 150 km (93 miles) from Dhaka, July 29, 2007. With floodwater pouring in through their windows, thousands of people affected by South Asia’s deadly deluge are being forced to share the limited high ground with venomous snakes, surrounded by filthy water. REUTERS/Rafiqur Rahman (BANGLADESH)
July 30th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Not trying to take too much on our plate, but do you think we can do something for the flood 2007. It’s looks like a disastor already.
Even some fund raising and connecting the fund with the right people in Bangladesh might help.I am sure we can find some good local organization to come forward for their help and we can buy them food and medicine from our money to distribute to the affected flood victims.Can’t totally depend on the government and joint and independent effor a must to tackle this.
Any comments:
Kawser Jamal
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
July 31st, 2007 at 1:10 am
“Change Bangladesh Organization, USA Targets to Raise US$10 Million for the Flood Affected People in Bangladesh”
All,
We have seen that so much effort and relentless hard work by our people in Bangladesh and Abroad to save the two leaders for not going to jail. I am thinking if they use their effort and money to save the disadvantage and incoming flood effected people in Bangladesh, quite a bit number of people will be saved.
I will be observing what those so called party people do in the upcoming natural disaster (flood) situation in Bangladesh. They should prove that all human being are same, so they should exhort huge support to save millions of flood affected people in Bangladesh like they did to the two political leaders in Bangladesh.
I will also urge those political party branches in USA, UK, CANADA, NEWZEALAND, and other countries to make a unified effort to help those flood affected people if they really care about Bangladesh.
I will do as much as possible through Change Bangladesh Organization, USA (www.changebanglades h.com) to raise money for the flood victim. We have at least 5 lack Bangladeshi living in USA, if every body donate at least US$20 to the fund created by the Change Bangladesh Organization, we can send at least US$10 Million or 70 Crore BD Taka to Bangladesh to help those affected people.
Change Bangladesh Organization, USA will pay for the administration cost to collect and send this money to various credential NGOs in Bangladesh. So all your contribution will be spent on flood victims. This is our promise and this is our goal.
Regards,
Eng. M. M. Chowdhury, Atlanta, USA
CEO, Amreteck LLC, USA
Director of Operation, Change Bangladesh Organization, USA
(Portfolio: Foreign Investment, Economic Opportunity & Job Creation)
Websites: http://www.changeBanglades h.com
http://www.amreteckpharma. com
Email: MChowdhury@amreteck pharma.com
July 31st, 2007 at 2:06 am
Is this blog an advertising space for changebangladesh and certain individuals? Just do it, man ..with less noise. Kotha kom, kaj beshi.
July 31st, 2007 at 3:10 am
Post # 3: Bhai Siraj, - Noise na korle toa we will not know that such a good effort is being undertaken. What harm is there in making positive noise! More so, if advertising the effort helps some people, be it then. Otherwise we do lot of unnecessary noise promoting causes not helping the poor people. Let us bear this inconvenience for the sake of poor people.
Well done Change Bangladesh. Thanks for putting it up. It is inspiring me to do some thing and insha-allah, I will contribute to your effort. I shall raise whatever little money I can from Canada and will direct it to either your organization or to Bangladesh.
Kawser Jamal, and M.M. - Hoping that you will get lot of support.
Thanks
July 31st, 2007 at 7:14 am
Kawser Jamal in #1 and M.M. Chowdhury in #2:
I would recommend contacting local organizations in different cities in North America and co-ordinate activities with them. BUFLA website lists all organizations in Los Angeles and their contact persons:
http://www.bufla.com/organizations.htm
Most people would be comfortable contributing through their local organizations. If you need help please let me know, I will introduce you to some people I know that may help to organize a fund drive in Los Angeles.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:17 pm
#3
Thanks Siraj for your comments. No this blog is not a promotional site of CBD and also we are not selling products, we are asking for help and promote ideas to change Bangladesh for better.
Thanks Lets talk the truth and Khilji bhai. We would follow your suggestion and really appreciate your comments and help.
Its time to roll the sleeves and work for the people of Bangladesh who we we love,respect and cherished everyday.Lets all help the flood effected people of Bangladesh.
thanks
Kawser Jamal
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
July 31st, 2007 at 4:32 pm
KJ,
Good luck. From my experience, the most difficult bit is to the implementation. In 2004, I helped with SpandanB fundraising. They raised about 90,000. It was because there was a good plan and able leadership under Muhammad Zafar Iqbal that the implementation was seamless.
http://www.sust.edu/floodaid/donation.html
I got the email from MMC of CB and I am a bit nervous because the email went out without any detail on who the money will go to, how people will donate etc. If I were you I would sort that out before doing the publicity for the sake of credibility. Also the email gives changebangladesh url for more update where no information is available on this drive.
One more idea is to contact BAFI or Spandanb to accept the checks since they have tax exempt status and CB can help with the publicity.
Last time, since there were also a lot of effort underway. We just put all the information together in one page for people to decide where to donate.
http://www.drishtipat.org/flood/
August 1st, 2007 at 3:02 am
Asif bhai,
Thanks a lot for the kind work and suggestion Asif bhai as always.
I am agreeing on your saying.What have we done is we are working with Muhit Rahman ( Muhit Bhai)of Bangladesh Relief Fund to use as a condo-it on the logisitic of the financial institutional constraint and limitations.
We are also trying to reach out Dr Jafor Iqbal Sir and other credible people and also to PAB members give us the local logistic support in Bangladesh. I just don’t trust the foreign NGO’s that much because their administrative cost is very high and there is lot of bureaucracy and red tapism in their organization. I have some experience from helping previous flood before from USA in the past.
Any logistic support from DP and suggestions are more than welcome.
Please look at our website for more info.
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
Thanks and again thanks to DP for good suggestions and support.
Kawser Jamal
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:00 am
Kawser Bhai, is there any update on how well the fund raising is going, were you able to contact anyone in Los Angeles?
I had some thoughts about flood and water resource management in general.
Fresh water is a scarce resource for Human survival, but it is also ironical that too much of this same water can become a curse, as we see today. If only we could find a way to store all this precious fresh water in a deep fresh water reservoir like lake Baikal.
These kind of flood will be more commonplace in the future, as rain increases due to global warming and glaciers keep melting in the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau. One possible scenario in the future, when all the glaciers substantially reduce in size after the current meltdown, is that the rivers will become seasonal rain water rivers, rather than todays all season rivers.
Some ideas from a layman:
- We need to improve our preparedness. One idea is to build high concrete structures as shelters or high earthen mounds with a pond in between which can work as a rain water reservoir and be a source of drinking water
- for reducing the severity of floods, regional multinational efforts are needed for water resource management, where countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sikim, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Thailand etc., who are dependent on rivers coming out of the Himalaya range and the Tibetan plateau, can work together
- Reservoirs can be made in mountain regions to hold the water to reduce flood severity and it could be released in lean season, while electric power could be generated in the process
- To increase water retention, extensive reforestation has to be done in the deforested areas in the foothill areas. And downstream in the drainage and flood plains, reforestation is needed near banks of rivers, to reduce run-off of top-soil and to reduce too much sediment being deposited on river bed
- Riverbeds need to be dredged out regularly so that it can retain more water and reduce severe flooding of the plains
- water level monitors at different points along the rivers starting from their source and rain-water measurements in different areas, these various datas could be fed into early flood warning system, that can accurately predict the timing and severity of flood. This information would be valuable for people, govt. and NGO’s to prepare in advance
I am sure local experts, together with foreign experts could find lots of solutions, learning from flood control experiences in different parts of the world.
It is not an insurmountable problem. If our country was more developed and there were less people on subsistence level and more resources available, human and material, all of the above would be automatically done. So economic development and growth is also key to prevent this kind of catastrophe. And last but not least, a regional multinational effort is also vital, as rain water and glacial water do not recognize the man made borders of nation states.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:28 am
Derek Gould’s article on Bangladesh floods.
If Bangladesh was full of Mangrove trees instead of people, then they would welcome the flood. Indeed, most of Bangladesh 500-1000 years ago was a Mangrove forest, before people decided to settle down, clear cut forests and create communities.
http://www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us/History/Asia/03/gould/gould.html
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109806&org=NSF&from=news
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070802182007.htm
Early warning system is already here.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2189190.ece
Smog and Particulate Matters are heating up from sun rays and helping to melt Himalayan Glaciers.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:24 am
The update is on our site. We are getting a very good response. Every bits help.
See the site
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
Thanks for all your help.Appreciate your concern. We are also looking in to the long term solution for flood problem.I will update you we need to make a team of expertise to identify the problem and than give us the solution and we need to implement that.Its possible now than years ago. We can make a loud cry for long term flood problem tackling as a new agenda.
Kawser Jamal
Volunteer
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
August 6th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Could you guys please give top priority to updating the Flood 2007 donation info page and provide more options for sending in the money? What is SpandanB’s website? I think we can postpone issues such as the Rangs bhaban and the pirs and the asia enery pr offensives for a few days.
August 6th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Nirbashito,
Until yesterday I couldn’t find anything other than Kawser Jamal’s initiative. Fortunately, there are quite a few initiatives that have started from today and links are updated on the page.
As for the news updates check the newspapers. For news analysis where we can add value, check the blog.
http://www.drishtipat.org/flood