“My seven-day-old baby has a cold and was struggling to breathe. When I try to breastfeed him, he cannot feed properly. Today, I can take him to see a doctor.”
These were the first words Saira* shared after receiving BDT 4,000 in cash assistance from ActionAid Bangladesh. Even as she spoke about the recent flood and the challenges her family had faced, her thoughts kept returning to her newborn son and the medical care he urgently needed.
Saira* lives in Pekua Upazila of Cox’s Bazar. Long before the recent floods, life had already become difficult for her. Unable to continue enduring physical and psychological abuse from her husband, she sought refuge at her parents’ home with her two daughters. One of her daughters, aged seven, attends an ActionAid-supported Shishu Bikash Kendra (SBK) under the Child Sponsorship Programme, which has connected the family with community-based support and activities over the years.
Today, Saira* shares a crowded household with her elderly mother, brothers, sisters-in-law, and their children. Despite limited resources, the family has been trying to support one another through difficult times.
When heavy monsoon rains triggered flooding across Pekua, Saira was in the final stage of her pregnancy. As floodwater continued to rise around her home, she went into labour.
“Everywhere there was water,” she recalled. “And inside me, there was another battle.”
With roads submerged and transportation disrupted, reaching a health facility was nearly impossible. For almost a day and a half, she endured labour pains while her family searched for a way to help.
“In that situation, the village midwife was our only hope,” she said.
Eventually, after repeated requests from Saira’s mother and brothers, the midwife made her way through the floodwaters to reach the house. There, amid one of the most challenging moments of Saira’s life, she safely delivered her third child—a baby boy.
“At one point, I felt like I was losing hope,” she said. “But then I reminded myself that I had carried this child for nine months. I could not give up.”
She also worried constantly about her daughters.
“Their father does not check on us. If something happened to me, what would happen to my girls? Who would take care of them?”
Although the baby survived the difficult delivery, new concerns emerged almost immediately. Since birth, he has shown signs of respiratory illness and has struggled to breastfeed properly.
For now, Saira* depends on the support of her brothers to meet the needs of her children. However, she knows that this arrangement may not be sustainable in the months ahead.
“My brothers are helping us now, but they have their own families to support,” she said. “I do not want to be a burden on anyone.”
As the floodwaters retreat, Saira finds herself facing a different kind of storm, one marked by uncertainty, responsibility, and the daily struggle to provide for her three children.
Still, Saira* refuses to give up hope.
“I can do some sewing work,” she said. “If I had a sewing machine, I could try to earn something from home. I want to stand on my own feet and take care of my children.”
With a newborn baby to care for, two daughters to raise, and no regular source of income, Saira is unsure how she will manage the days ahead. The recent flood has only deepened the challenges her family was already struggling to overcome.
Her immediate concern is getting treatment for her newborn son. Beyond that, she dreams of a future where she no longer has to rely on others to survive.
“I just want to raise my children properly,” she said.
The flood may have made life more difficult for Saira*, but it did not take away her determination. Having endured a day and a half of labour while her community was underwater, she now faces a different challenge: rebuilding her life and creating a more secure future for her children.
*Name changed to protect identity.
