What makes people resilient? Insights from flood prone Bangladesh

By Anwar Hossain

As interest in resilience gathers momentum on the international stage, the need to address the question what do we understand by resilience becomes more important. To explore this question I recently visited flood victims in Sirajganj, Bangladesh.

Layli Begum from Char Saidabad trained as a volunteer on primary health care as part of Practical Action’s From Vulnerability to Resilience project. We visited her house when the flood water receded to find her busy making repairs.

“After 20 days we came home and our houses are not useable , we are trying to repair and clean,” she said wearily.

“Almost every year flood comes in this area but this year it was higher than the prediction.”

“We have experienced many floods before and people suffer from lack of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Water used to enter the village silently and the sufferings of the people knew no bounds. People had to depend on relief and external support.”

“But this year though there were no relief activities, there was no major humanitarian crisis!” says Layli with confidence.

So what’s the secret for their survival for twenty days without external support?

“I got the message on my mobile phone that water was increasing in the Jamuna River and it might cross the danger level within two days. I called a community meeting to disseminate this message. As volunteers we took the initiative to announce this message using our hand microphone. We prepared to shift with our belongings, dry food, firewood, torches, cook stoves, water jars, money etc. just as we had learned about preparedness in our meeting two months ago.”

“When water started to enter the village we moved to the community house yard. After five days when this flooded we moved to another safe place. It was not so easy to move at that time as there was water everywhere and there were no transport. With the help of Practical Action we, the community people made a float with plastic drums and bamboo. It helped us hugely and we rescued many people and their valuables like cattle, goats, refrigerators, TVs, cots and bedding.”

As a health volunteer Layli also helped take a pregnant mother to hospital.

Access to information, early warning messages, social capital like community organization, human capital like skilled volunteers, knowledge, awareness that lead preparedness are the secret to building people’s resilience.