The funds will be matched 1-to-1 by Seattle-based non-profit, One Day’s Wages, making $100,000 available for the project.
The funds will provide ten community kitchens at Jamtoli that include:
- ongoing support for cooking daily meals
- nutrition training and hygiene and sanitation sessions
- a safe space for women to gather and support each other
In addition to these materials and training facilitation, World Renew will also provide individual stoves to 225 households, and offer health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene sensitization training to 500 additional households.
World Renew and One Day’s Wages are collaborating as part of a larger action that began at a roll out event called “Stand with Refugees” at Quest Church in Seattle on Jun 16, 2018. Participants attended to stand in solidarity with not only Rohingya ethnic peoples, but also refugees fleeing violence in Syria and South Sudan.
Since August 2017, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar because of ethnic and religious violence. Those who made it to Jamtoli camp now reside in makeshift tents and other temporary structures. As of February 2018, Jamtoli alone was home to 48,700 refugees. It has been challenging for camp residents to source resources for daily calorie and cooking needs. They also struggle to find fuel to cook and resort to continuing to deforest nearby stands of trees.
In addition to limited access to food, living conditions in Jamtoli are cramped, risking the spread of illnesses such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid. Many families in the camp are woman-headed households fleeing extreme circumstances who are not only traumatized by the loss of loved ones, but also loss of their assets, livelihood, and security.
The health training and cooking equipment supplied by World Renew’s Bangladesh partners will provide vulnerable women and children with more support, increased safety, and better health practices. For many years, World Renew has walked alongside some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees fleeing conflict in areas such as Myanmar, Syria, and Sudan.
In this exciting, successful fundraising opportunity to collaborate with One Day’s Wages, World Renew is reaching hundreds more displaced Rohingya families with vital food and health assistance.