Feeding the Multitude

No matter what numbers we quote, they leave one reeling. The latest reports indicate that there are now 609,000 Rohingya refugee arrivals since August 25. That is in addition to the 212,518 who were here prior to that and already living in the camps. An estimated 3,000 new arrivals have crossed the Nav river in the past few days and are currently staying in no man’s land near the border and are expected to continue into Bangladesh. Take a moment to reflect on the magnitude of those numbers.

The World Food Programme (WFP), an agency of the United Nations, is the leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide. In this Rohingya refugee crisis, WFP is taking the lead role in providing food assistance. World Renew and its implementing partner, CCDB, are one of 15 organizations who partnered with WFP to provide this food assistance during the 4th round of distributions which started on October 25th and was completed on November 3rd. Although our involvement is small compared to other very large partners, we are thankful that we are part of this process. During that 10-day period, at 14 different locations, food was distributed to a total of 146,501 families! That represents an increase of 32,000 families from the previous distribution. The plan is to do this twice each month. Hopefully, World Renew will be able to continue to partner with WFP for subsequent distributions and, in fact, increase our involvement. For those families who are not yet registered for the food distributions, or who are in transit at or from the border, an organization called ACF – Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) is providing 45,000 prepared meals on a daily basis.

Our distribution was on Wednesday, November 1st. It was the last day of distributions for this particular location. We were scheduled to distribute food to 1,884 families that day! I doubt if we have ever undertaken a single distribution of this magnitude. For each family, WFP would provide 25kg of rice and we would provide 4kg of lentils, 1kg of sugar, 0.5kg of salt, and 2 litres of oil.

The location that had been assigned to us was deep inside the largest camp. As the camps expand, distribution sites are being added to minimize the distances that people have to carry their food. We knew that road access to this location would be a challenge but had not anticipated to what extent. To address the challenge, we purposely hired small trucks. Although the monsoon season has passed, we experienced heavy rains all during the previous night and into the daylight hours. We headed out with our trucks early in the morning. These trucks had been loaded the previous day at our warehouse for inspection by government officials. In order to monitor what is coming into the camps the vehicles also need to pass scrutiny by the military just before they enter the camp.

The road inside the camp was narrow, busy with people and very muddy. We were only able to get to within several hundred feet of our distribution location before the roads became impassable. Then, the truck had to be unloaded and the food carried down a slippery, muddy and crowded path to the covered site. At 10:30 we began the distribution. By then, thankfully, the rain had stopped!

Those who are assigned to receive food on a particular day are provided with a “token” – a piece of paper that is unique for that day. They must present that token, along with their ‘beneficiary card’ to receive the food. Their information is recorded on a master list, they provide a thumb print to signify receipt of the food, and the beneficiary card is filled in and initialed to record the date they received food. All of this is to ensure there is no duplication and to provide accountability to the donors. It is a good process. To minimize line ups, WFP staff sends groups of approximately 100 families to the distribution location at different times throughout the day.

Breastfeeding corners, washrooms, and drinking stations are also provided. Since Muslim countries and communities require the separation of men and boys from women and girls in social and other settings, there are separate lines for men and women. Those who are more vulnerable are given priority in the lines. “Porters” (paid Rohingya ‘volunteers’) are enlisted to assist the elderly, the weak, mothers with babies and other vulnerable people in carrying the food back to their tent.

The process, once started, moved efficiently. At 4:00 pm we completed the distribution of all 1,884 food packages! All of the rice, the oil, and the packages of lentils, sugar and salt, were completely gone. In the camp, we left behind a tired group of volunteers. The relief and thankfulness that we experienced as we travelled back to our home in Cox’s Bazar was tremendous. Although we very much recognized that, in spite of what we had done that day, we were still leaving ongoing suffering and tremendous hardships, as we turned a corner onto the main highway, it was fitting that we witnessed a most beautiful sunset. Our God is an awesome God! We are thankful that we can be a small part of alleviating suffering and pain – whether it be by serving here or through your generosity which makes this all possible.

We have just received confirmation that, during the next round of distributions, which start on November 12th, we will again work alongside WFP to distribute the same supplementary food packages. This time it will be to 7,284 families!

We have also been informed that Harry’s visa extension request has only been granted until midnight on November 16th so he will need to leave the country prior to that. That is recent and somewhat sudden news but we are thankful that another IRM couple will arrive just in time to replace him and continue with the work.