Desher Kaj
Area-to-area relief link
Dry food, water and medicine from one area to another after a flood or storm.
Area
Gaibandha
People
12 people
Time
About 40 hours
Difficulty
Hard
About this task
Gaibandha, among the chars of the Brahmaputra–Jamuna and the Teesta, often floods in the monsoon, and help is hard to get to the far chars. Linking an area hit by flood or cyclone with another: a real needs list from someone local, collecting and packing dry food, drinking water, medicine and saline, then handing it out from the list, with signatures.
Why it matters
After a disaster help goes mostly where the roads are good, and the far villages are missed. Giving from a list, with local people, gets help to the right hands and wastes nothing.
What changes after
Every family on the list received, with signatures; receipts public; a local coordinator’s number kept for next time.
Who can join
Over 18. Anyone can pack; for delivery, people fit and used to moving in water.
Step by step
- 1Done
Needs list120 min
From a local person: how many families, what they lack most, how to reach them.
- 2Done
Collect and pack600 min
Dry food, water, saline and medicine by family, the same in every pack.
- 3Done
Deliver and distribute600 min
From the list, one pack per family, a signature or thumbprint for each.
Checklist to get ready
- Transport · ১টি ট্রাক
When it counts as done
- Every family on the list received, with signatures
Proof required: Photo, Signatures, Receipt
⚠ Safety
Life jackets on boats. Never cross fast-flowing water on foot. Go only when the warning signal is lowered. Keep cash out of sight.
What it costs
| Dry food pack (2 kg flattened rice, 1 kg molasses, puffed rice, biscuits) | 50 families | ৳450–650 |
| Drinking water, 5-litre bottle | 50 | ৳90–130 |
| Oral saline and water purification tablets | 50 families | ৳60–100 |
| Basic medicine and first-aid box (paracetamol, bandage, antiseptic) | 1 set | ৳1,500–3,000 |
| Sacks and thick polythene (keeps packs dry) | 50 sets | ৳25–40 |
| Truck hire, one day | 1 | ৳6,000–12,000 |
| Engine boat hire, one day | 1 | ৳3,000–6,000 |
| Total (about) | ৳42,000–67,000 | |
Getting ready, step by step
7 days before (or the day the news comes)
Talk to someone local: how many families, what they need most, how to get there.
Take pledges on the task page; money goes straight to the team, not through the site.
Tell the union parishad which ward you are going to.
3 days before
Have the family list with names, addresses and household size; the local coordinator keeps a copy.
Buy the goods; keep every receipt.
Book the truck and boat; check the boat has life jackets.
The day before
Pack every bag the same, wrapped in polythene, into sacks.
Check the warning and weather on 1090.
Print the signature sheet; take pens and an ink pad.
The day
Leave at dawn so you are back by daylight.
One pack per family from the list; a signature or thumbprint for each.
The week after
Put all receipts and the signature sheet on the task page.
Ask the local coordinator whether anyone was missed.
Who does what
- Lead and list keeper (1): Runs handout against the list, takes signatures. — ____________
- Purchase and accounts (2): Compares prices, buys, keeps every receipt. — ____________
- Packing team (5): Makes identical packs, counts them, loads sacks. — ____________
- Delivery and boat team (3): Used to water; carries packs, keeps the line. — ____________
- Photos and proof (1): Takes photos, keeps the signature sheet and receipts in order. — ____________
The day, hour by hour
- 06:00Meet at the store, count packs, load the truck.
- 07:00Set off; lead phones the coordinator.
- 09:30Reach the ghat, load the boat; life jackets on.
- 11:00Reach the village; set the handout table on high, dry ground.
- 11:30Hand out by name from the list; elders, disabled people and pregnant women first.
- 14:00Take packs to the homes of those who could not come.
- 15:00Count leftovers, hand them to the coordinator in writing; head back.
- 18:00Check everyone is back safe; write up the day's accounts.
What can go wrong, and what to do
- Water rises fast or the current is strong → Stop the trip; never cross a current on foot; follow the boatman.
- A crowd of people not on the list → Stay calm, write their names, promise them the next round or via the union parishad.
- Running short of packs → Never drop the list; note the rest and deliver within two days.
- Carrying cash → Buy as much as possible beforehand; keep cash hidden, split between two people.
Useful numbers
- 1090Disaster early warning (recorded, free)
- 999National emergency: police, fire, ambulance (free)
- 16263Shasthya Batayon: a doctor on the phone
Questions people ask
- How do we raise money?
- Take pledges on the task page. Money goes straight to the team; put every receipt in the proof.
- What should we not send?
- Heaps of old clothes and cooked food that spoils. Nothing outside the needs list.
- Can I join if I cannot stay the whole time?
- Yes. Say in your request which step or which hours you can do. The lead will give that step to you.