MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (Nov 19, 2007) —World Vision is appealing for more than $2 million to provide an aid package that includes temporary shelter for 50,000 people whose homes were destroyed by Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.

Of the total, $1.5 million will go to provide tin sheeting for 9,375 families, or 50,000 individuals, who lost their homes. The additional $632,000 will provide emergency food and relief items to some 100,000 people.

“The scale of the devastation is enormous. It is very hard to get to some areas due to fallen trees.  There is need wherever we look,” said Vince Edwards, World Vision’s national director in Bangladesh.

World Vision has already distributed initial emergency food – two kilograms of rice and one kilogram of sugar or molasses per family to over 2,400 families. More than 800 World Vision staff and volunteers are currently involved in the response, many providing first aid for those injured by flying debris and falling homes

Rika Halder, 11, lost her home in Kandi, Kotalipara, when it was smashed by high winds from the cyclone. Halder and her family survived, but their simple home made of bamboo and mud was flung into a nearby marshland.

“Our house was taken away like a toy,” Halder told a World Vision relief worker. “We found it … but without a roof or wall. My father and mother started screaming, as we were, too. What we need most is food and a place to live. It is hard to live under open sky.”

World Vision is accepting donations to assist those affected by the cyclone. Those wishing to help can click here or call 1-800-268-5528.

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Motivated by our Christian faith, we serve all people regardless of religion, race, gender or ethnicity. For more information, please visit WorldVision.ca.

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For more information or to arrange interviews with World Vision staff, please contact:
Yoko Kobayashi 
yoko_kobayashi@WorldVision.ca
416-677-0086 (cell)
905-565-6200 ext. 2151 (office)