Earning cash while building a safer community in Bangladesh

Above: Skilled labourer Sobikha Begum working on her site in Camp 13, Cox’s Bazar. Photo: Ariful Islam/CARE Bangladesh

Employment opportunities for displaced Rohingya living in camps at Cox’s Bazar, Bangaldesh, are few and far between, especially for women.

For Sobikha Begum, a Rohingya woman who fled Myanmar following the August 2017 violence after her husband was killed and other family members tortured, finding income earning opportunities to support her family of eight was tough. Sobikha supports her six children, her mother, and one of her sisters. Her other brothers and sisters are living separately in different camps.

When Sobikha and her family arrived at the camps, they had left all their belongings behind. She was grieving, humanitarian food assistance alone wasn’t enough to cover their needs, and she struggled to find work or earning opportunities.

“When we fled from our country to Bangladesh, I was responsible to look after nine family members including my children, mother, sister, and myself,” Sobikha said.

“I was feeling very helpless because there were a lot of family members waiting for me to do something for them, but there was no food to eat, no shelter to stay in, and no one to help me. Relief items that I was receiving from different NGOs were never enough for all. I went to different places in search of work opportunities but got no work,” she said.

Now Sobikha is working as skilled labourer in Camp 13 under the Cash for Work Program for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), supported by the Australian Humanitarian Partnership through CARE Bangladesh.

Sobikha found out about the program in July 2021, and applied.

When she started working in an unskilled labourer role for the program, she showed good skills and quickly acquired knowledge of construction work. She also had the appetite to learn more, and has now moved into a skilled position.

As the main breadwinner in her family, access to regular work has been transformative. Sobikha can now afford enough food for the family. Before she had to take loans from neighbours just to afford essential items, and was heavily indebted. But now Sobhika is able to afford clothing and medicine. Importantly, her children have also been able to return to school.

Above: Sobhika with five of her children. Photo: Ariful Islam/CARE Bangladesh

“When I got the opportunity to work with CARE DRR team as a skilled labourer, it helped me and my family members to overcome a terrible situation. Thanks to this opportunity, I am now able to send my children to school. If I had not got this chance, I would have had to push my children to work,” Sobikha said.

Through the project, Sobikha is also attending learning and awareness sessions on a regular basis, covering a range of issues that affect communities in the camps such as disaster preparedness, fire response and human trafficking. 

Sobikha’s work also has a dual benefit – it has not only improved her family’s circumstances, but is making their camp a better and safer place to live. New pathways have made it easier to move around, including to hygiene facilities, and reduced the risks from disasters such as fires and floods.

“I feel really happy when I see people from my community and neighbourhood benefit from the project where I work,” Sobikha said.

Through the Cash for Work DRR project, more than 3600 people from the Rohingya community have had the opportunity to support their families. At the same time, the infrastructure of the camps has improved, reducing vulnerability to disasters and increasing quality of life.

The AHP response in Bangladesh is now in its third phase, involving all six Australian NGO partners and numerous local partners.