Story type: Story

 

BANGLADESH I have lost everything that mattered to me

Kohinoor was seven months pregnant when she heard the cyclone warnings over the loudspeaker from the local mosque. In the region of Karringchar Union, a village in Hatiya where Kohinoor and her family live, natural disasters are frequent and residents are exposed to struggles and face grave losses

 

INDIA I dont know where to begin

“I don’t know where to begin picking up the pieces of my life. My house has collapsed. I also had some chickens with which I used to support my family but they are dead. I have been wearing this sari for the last five days as I don’t have any clothes left,” says Namita Manna. She belongs to Kesto Mohanpur village in Patherpratima Block of South 24 Pargana - one of the villages severely affected by Cyclone Aila, which hit the State of West Bengal on 25th & 26th May.

 

INDIA A long time to heal

“I will never forget 25th May for the rest of my life, especially how my life changed within a matter of few hours,” says Sheikh Ahmedullah, reliving those moments when his entire household and his meagre belongings were swept away.

 

SRI LANKA Daring to hope

I didn’t notice anything different about her, at first; 10-year-old Priyana* is a beautiful, perfect little girl, and her face lit up as she smiled at me.

 

SRI LANKA Facing the future alone

Cradling her two-month-old son in her arms, Laxmi* smiled as the baby yawned and reached for her. “I am happy we are safe,” she said softly, sitting on a mat in an emergency tent. “I only wish my husband could have met his son.