Millions were affected when Cyclone Sidr tore into Bangladesh’s southwestern coast on November 15, 2007.  Winds comparable to those of Hurricane Katrina swept in from the Bay of Bengal creating a surge of water that rolled up rivers and streams, deep into the countryside.  An estimated 3,400 people died.  Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless, left with nothing but what they could carry as they fled to the safety of shelters.  Crops were destroyed and livestock swept away.

MCC is appealing for funds to rebuild 1,250 houses in Taffelbari, a coastal area of Bagerhat that is home to many fishing and farming families.  Since the storm, many families in Taffelbari are living beside the roads in makeshift tents, constructed out of whatever materials they could find, such as blankets, sticks and tin sheeting.

MCC is rebuilding simple houses, 9 by 15 feet with concrete posts, timber walls and corrugated steel roofs and siding.  The houses will be sturdier and similar in size to those that were destroyed, and they will be built where the old houses stood.  Each house will cost about $320, including labor, materials and administrative costs.

To help fund MCC's Bangladesh home reconstruction, quilt squares depicting houses have been collected to create quilts, wall hangings and other textile projects to be sold or auctioned at MCC's 2008 relief sales.  To date, over 230 house blocks have been collected in the United States and Canada.

Click here to watch a video of MCC's Bangladesh cyclone relief effort.