We hear that our boxes have arrived at Royenda so make a return journey to the disaster site. With the army’s help, we take the boxes further south by boat and distribute to the areas most affected. Those in most need had been identified by the army making our job relatively simple. The people were assembled to receive a demonstration of how to erect the tents and use the other essential equipment provided. Signatures were required before the boxes could be taken by their new owners. I was impressed by the order brought about by the army and their efficiency in dealing with the situation. This in itself must have instilled a sense of normality back into the lives of the cyclone victims.
We take a look around the area and are shown the graves of those killed by the cyclone. Many are buried along the road side as this is the only area of raised ground above the marshy areas below. Part of the problem faced by the recipients of our boxes, will be clearing a site suitable to place the tent – there is just so much debris everywhere.
Simon has just about finished clearing a further 400 boxes through customs at Dhaka and has arranged for them to be sent by truck.
Not wishing to endure the 4 hour journey back to Khulna, we spend the night in a school classroom that has been taken over as an army barracks. The army also provide us with food. We take a shower from a bucket of cold water. I don’t want to think about where the water has come from. It’s certainly not the cleanest I’ve seen.