Project Compassion Week 1: Jamila from Bangladesh

Twenty-two-year-old, Jamila, is a single mother, living in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. A Rohingya woman, she fled the armed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to save herself, her elderly mother and eight-month-old baby daughter. Having been abandoned by her husband, she faced life in the camp on her own.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people, have crossed into Bangladesh since August 2017. Over 1.3 million people remain in the densely populated camps, in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

Thanks to the generosity of Caritas Australia’s supporters and through our partnership with Caritas Bangladesh, Jamila had access to emergency food and shelter. Then, as her stay in the camp stretched on, Jamila joined the Women Friendly Spaces project where she received counselling and emotional support. She learnt about health and hygiene, participated in a parenting program and learnt sewing skills, to help her to earn an income.

Jamila now has a sense of community around her and feels less alone and more supported - and she is able to ‘Be More’ to her family.

“I want to offer my thankful greetings to those who are kindly thinking of us from overseas”, Jamila says. “Thank you, and thanks Caritas Australia.”

Follow mnnews.today on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Caritas Australia Image
Caritas Australia

Caritas Australia, a Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, is part of a global network that spans over 200 countries and territories. For over 110 years, Caritas has worked towards the creation of a just world. In 1964, Caritas began in Australia.