Rohingya people are facing challenges that can seem impossible. So, we thought, they could really use the doable.
To kick things off, we’re turning our attention to an incredible group of women, many of whom lost their husbands in the conflict. They’re now living together as a group of 35, lifting each other and helping each other survive.
In talking with the women, we realized that one huge daily stressor was something seemingly simple – getting firewood. It was consuming their lives, emotions, and making them feel physically ill from being overwhelmed. The area around them has seen extreme forestation, so people need to walk long distances to gather firewood. And, it can be incredibly dangerous – especially for women.
So today, we’re doing something about it.
In order to help ease their daily worry for just a small amount of time, we decided to give each family enough firewood to last one month. Our hope is this would allow for them to breathe just a little easier.
We also got five stoves for the community as a replacement for their homemade versions, to make cooking easier too.
Cheers of thanks erupted as the firewood was delivered!
“We don’t have a sentence to explain how happy we are with the firewood. We hadn’t been able to cook rice from our rations,” said one of the women.
It didn’t take much, but this simple first act lifted a burden from their hearts.
