Stitching life back together

When Cyclone Sidr hit coastal areas of Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, tens of thousands of people lost their homes and livelihoods. Six months on, Sabrina and her family are busy getting back on their feet with Oxfam's support.

Before the cyclone

Sabrina and her husband Mohammad Afzal Hossain Howlader were married in 2004 and living with Afzal’s family in a small house by the river in Harinpala village. Two months before the cyclone hit, Sabrina bought a small piece of land by the embankment, and moved out of her father-in-law’s house with her husband and young daughter Summaia.

When the family heard the news of the impending cyclone, they took shelter in the nearest cyclone centre. “So many people were in one place in the refuge centre. It felt like the wind would break the building into pieces,” Sabrina recalls. “The baby was scared and cried all night long. We waited all night without any sleep and came back to the house in the morning. When we got there, there was nothing. Not even a single piece of cloth left.”

Starting over

After receiving 5,000 Taka (approx £35.75) from the government to help with reconstruction, Afzal was able to build a small makeshift home for their family.

Sabrina took part in a cash-for-work project with Oxfam’s local partner Uttaran, cleaning up the local community and earning enough money to cover the family’s daily needs.  She also received a sewing machine as part of Oxfam’s livelihood recovery programme. Because their home was too small to house the machine, Afzal borrowed some money and built a shed for Sabrina to work from.

“I just received the machine, only three days ago. I am practicing now. I can make shirts, trousers, and salwar kameez,” Sabrina explains with giddy eyes. “For now I just made a small ‘Jama’ for my daughter. I hope to have a shop in the market one day that my husband can help me with.”

Sharing her plans for the future, Sabrina smiles, “At first, I will work from home and make things for the villagers. It will take us quite a few years to recover from the cyclone. This machine will help us to make some extra money. In this village, it’s hard to make money, even for a man. But I think I can make money with this machine. If can do all right and save up some money, I hope I can one day open up a small tailoring shop in the bazaar.”

Learn more about Oxfam's response to the Bangladesh cyclone