Greening a small plot transforms a widowed mother’s life in a Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camp
Date:
Author: Magfuzur Rahman Shana
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh — The woman arrived in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar in 2017, seeking refuge from the armed attacks in Rakhine State in Myanmar that killed many thousands and forced over 742,000 Rohingya to flee. She struggled to cope in her new environment.
“I live with my three children and my husband is no longer with us. I am the only earner to take care of my family,” the woman, now 51, said.
(UN Women is not using the woman’s name, for her safety.)
In 2020, she discovered the UN Women-supported Multipurpose Women’s Centre (MPWC) operated in Camp 4 by ActionAid Bangladesh, the local chapter of the international humanitarian federation. This began a new chapter in her life; in the facility, she learned basic literacy, numeracy and livelihoods skills and found new friends.
“When I arrived in Cox's Bazar in 2017, I looked and looked for a safe space for women where I would be listened to and supported as a woman,” she said. “I am very blessed to have found the MPWC, where I have completed trainings in sewing and gardening, and learned totally new things for me.”
Today, the woman uses her new skills as part of a nursery group with four other women (including one transgender woman) that takes care of the roughly 18.58-square-meter garden around the multipurpose centre.
Each season, when we receive seeds from the centre, we start by preparing the soil, nurturing it through the vermicomposting process, and planting trees in the garden. As the trees grow, this not only provides me with income but also builds my hope, calms my mind, and brings me peace.”
With funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh, UN Women and ActionAid Bangladesh organized and provided training to women, with technical assistance from FAO during the earlier phase, to support ‘Home State Gardening’ enabling them to plant trees and vegetable gardens in and around the multipurpose centres within the camps. This greens the heavily overcrowded camps and reduces the risk of landslides.
In the summer, the women tend fruit trees such as papaya, banana, jackfruit, plum and star fruit; and in the winter, lady's finger, onions, garlic and spices such as brinjal and pepper. Income earned from selling the produce is distributed equally among the five members of the nursery group.
One day, the woman smiled broadly while showing her leafy sweet gourd plants to a visitor from UN Women.
She said: “Each season, when we receive seeds from the centre, we start by preparing the soil, nurturing it through the vermicomposting process, and planting trees in the garden. As the trees grow, this not only provides me with income but also builds my hope, calms my mind, and brings me peace.”
By working the soil, the woman has been able to supplement her food rations with nutritious food and to earn the equivalent of about USD 22.5 a month.
“A small piece of MPWC space has changed my life,” she said. “I grow my own vegetables and fruits, which provides essential fresh food for my family, and generate income every month by selling fruits and vegetables to our community people and MPWC visitors.”
One million Rohingya people remain stranded in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, their movement and work opportunities restricted to the camps due to the non-integration policy of the Government. Facing food insecurities and no means to earn a legal income, some refugees have resorted to increasingly desperate measures.
In 2024, a total of 120,524 women and girls in the refugee camps (97,591) and in the Bangladeshi communities around the camps (22,933) benefited from protection and empowerment services at the MPWCs in Cox’s Bazar. The project was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh.