Chittagong, Bangladesh: Dr Abdullah Bin Naser Al-Busairi, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh, handed over a cheque of Taka 3.509 million to the UNHCR Bangladesh representative Craig Sanders in his office on April 5.
Saudi Arabia provided financial assistance for supply of food grains and other essential commodities to the Burmese refugees in Bangladesh in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to a press release from Saudi embassy.
The US Department of State posted on its website an urgent proposal; “Current Funding Priorities for Assistance to Burmese Rohingya in Bangladesh,” which mentions that to promote a holistic, district-wide approach to both registered Rohingya refugees living inside the two official refugee camps, Kutupalong and Nayapara, and unregistered Rohingya and local Bangladeshi host population living outside the camps will be prioritized above other project proposals submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.
The proposals for Araknese Rohingya refugee are:
(1) Proposed activities in the two official refugee camps, Kutupalong and Nayapara, should support the following priority sectors:
a. Expand skills training to include income generating activities, with an emphasis on the development of skills and vocational training to achieve a measure of self-sufficiency and a reasonable livelihood;
b. Strengthen ongoing healthcare (including reproductive health), education services, and psychosocial programming, particularly through integrating and expanding support to the disabled;
c. Expand community mobilization programmes, especially in support of the existing community-based counseling system for conflict resolution;
d. Improve physical infrastructure in the camps, including shelter and interior roads; and
e. Improve knowledge of and enhance the capacity to identify and respond to GBV, and build the capacity of service providers to incorporate GBV prevention and response into their activities.
(2) Proposals that incorporate unregistered Rohingya living outside of the two official camps, Kutupalong and Nayapara, should link the above priority sectors with the following activities:
a. Expand access to justice by strengthening law and order in the sub-districts where the camps are located, specifically to combat GBV and support survivors; and
b. Expand access to education for refugee children that would serve both Rohingya and Bangladeshi students, where Rohingya make up 50 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries.
When asked refugees said, “it is good news as we can give our children education, but we are not sure whether the programmes will be implemented.”
“We thank Saudi Arabia and US for helping us and arranging a programme to save our children and us in the camp,” said a woman from the unregistered refugee camp of Kutupalong.
