Nothing left
On the night of 2 May 2008, Salim’s old house was knocked to the ground by the wind and then washed away by the tidal water. They were left with nothing.
“During the days after Nargis, all I could think about was how to find food for my family as I no longer had a source of income,” said Salim. “The only shelter that my family and I had was a small hut made from tarpaulin and bamboo. It wasn’t enough to protect us from the cold rain that fell during the last rainy season.”
“For nearly five months we were wet at night because the water used to leak through the roof of our hut. My wife and I wouldn’t sleep because we were trying to protect our children from the rain. I had no idea how to rebuild our house for our children without any money, and I felt like weeping all the time because of the miseries we were faced with,” Salim said.
Permanent homes
Thanks to IR, Salim and 145 other families in his village now have new, permanent homes. All the houses are constructed using timber wooden frames and concrete foundations with iron roofs.
“I thought that we would never live in a decent home again,” Salim said. “But because of Islamic Relief, our dream has now come true. We would like to express our gratitude to them on behalf of all the families like ours that they have helped.”