Bangladesh needs your help!

On the evening of November 15 2007 cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh, killing at least 3,260 people and injuring another 40,000, according to U.N. figures.

Cyclone Sidr is Bangladesh’s worst disaster in years. With winds measuring 250 kph (155 mph), the storm hit the southwestern coast, triggering a 5-metre  (15 foot) tidal wave. Three weeks on hundreds of people are still reported as missing.

The situation is dire: With over 1.4 million homes destroyed or damaged, at least 1.25 million livestock killed and 2 million acres of cropland damaged, Bangladesh has asked the international community for $1 billion to rebuild coastal areas.

Food, shelter and cash are the three greatest needs in terms of emergency assistance, the United Nations says, but sanitation, drinking water, electricity and livelihood assistance are also critical. Much of the south of the country is inaccessible by road, making delivery of aid and food supplies very difficult.

Do you want to help?

Here’s what you can do:

Oxfam and the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce (BBCC) launched a new partnership with a call from the BBCC to all Bangladeshi owned restaurants to add a voluntary £1 donation to every bill which will go to people whose homes, crops and livelihoods have been wrecked by the cyclone.

Aziz-ur Rahman, Director General of the British Bangladeshi Chamber of Commerce said: “With more than 10,000 restaurants, and thousands of shops and other businesses around the UK, Britain’s Bangladeshi businesses can make a real difference to this appeal – whether they are members of the chamber or not. We are backing Oxfam’s appeal because our communities, our families and our people need direct help urgently.”

So, how about doing something good before the end of this year?

We are not suggesting you should sacrifice your daily coffee fix and donate those £2 to the relief work of Oxfam and the DEC, right? All we would like you to do is this: Take your family and friends to your favourite Bangladeshi curry house, enjoy a great meal and spend that extra £1 to give the victims of the cyclone-hit Bangladesh a life. 

It is as easy as this!

If you would like to make a donation visit Oxfam or the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) . You can also donate by calling 0870 60 60 900.