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11 February 2012 / 18 Rabi'al Awwal 1433

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Ramadhan Relief 1431: Mr. Husain forced to choose between food and medicine – Bangladesh

Updated 11 August 2010

This Ramadhan, many of us will have the luxury of choosing between coffee and tea, cheesecake and crepes, chicken tikka and biryani. We will choose what new outfit we are going to wear on Eid and look for the perfect shoes to match.

However, there are individuals and families whose options are limited to unsafe water or no water, a slice of bread or a small bowl of plain rice. Mr. Husain is one of these individuals who is forced to choose between food for his family and medicine for his wife and daughter.

Mr. Husain lives in Bangladesh and has a low paying job. His wife suffers from bone disease and is more or less handicapped. They have two daughters; the older daughter has borderline Thalassaemia and despite her medical condition, has managed to complete her Masters of Business Administration this year. She hopes to stay healthy enough to find a decent job and help support her family. Mr. Husain’s younger daughter is still in school.

Whilst Mr. Husain’s two daughter work odd jobs to help meet the family’s growing expenses, they find it extremely difficult to make enough money to afford both a decent meal and pay for the medications to manage the bone disease and Thalassaemia.

With the support they will receive from this year’s Ramadhan Relief Program, Mr. Husain will be able to purchase healthier food rations this Ramadhan so that he can provide his ailing family with a better, more nutritious diet.

POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
In recent years, shattering cyclones and floods, the steep increase in food prices and the global recession have all impacted the economic growth of Bangladesh - which in turn has led to a deterioration of the food security and nutritional situation in the country.

60 million people in Bangladesh still do not have sufficient food to eat. Bangladesh has the highest child underweight rate in South Asia and one of the highest in the world, with nearly 8 million children under 5 years old underweight.

Though Bangladesh has achieved impressive results in reducing the proportion of people living in poverty and is approaching self-sufficiency in cereals production, it is estimated that the country is loosing 1 per cent of arable land to climate change and urbanization, placing further pressure on long term food security.

RAMADHAN RELIEF IN BANGLADESH
Many of the less fortunate Shia Muslims live in Bangladesh’s slums. With your financial contribution to the Ramadhan Relief Fund, The World Federation of KSIMC can provide food and other basic essentials for the month of Ramadhan to 237 Sadaat and 341 Non-Sadaat families living in deprivation in the following Districts: