As of December 2020, the government of Bangladesh has now relocated about 20,000 Rohingya refugees from the crowded Kutupalong Camp- which houses 1 million refugees- to the remote island of Bhasan Char. With the help of its implementing partner, PRANTIC, OBAT is addressing the needs of these refugees and has started supporting the community since they settled there.
After a rapid needs assessment survey was conducted by our staff, the following initiatives have been undertaken so far:
- Distribution of 1,000 blankets in March 2021
- Distribution of a six-month supply of food for 1,000 Rohingyas. Food distribution for another 1,000 Rohingya refugees is in the pipeline.
- In May, OBAT also started a pilot livelihood project.
The following projects are also planned for Bhasan Char:
- One Learning Center
- One health post with a capacity to address 30-50 patients daily. It will target 1,000 families living in one block.
- 10 sewing machines have been bought to develop sewing and tailoring skills for the women of the same block