Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Caritas Bangladesh
Khulna (Fides News Agency) – Following the recent floods, Catholic communities across the Diocese of Khulna have opened church facilities to accommodate people displaced by rising waters, offering temporary shelter until floodwaters recede from the streets of Khulna and their homes: this was reported to Fides by Msgr. James Romen Boiragi, Bishop of Khulna, in southwestern Bangladesh, who said that “our solidarity is expressed through shelter and hospitality for vulnerable and displaced people, most of whom are poor and belong to Dalit communities.”The diocese’s approximately 37,000 Catholics are predominantly Dalits, the Bishop noted. Although Bangladesh is largely Muslim, (approximately 89% of the population), the country has retained deeply rooted social hierarchies and forms of discrimination inherited from the caste system of its Hindu past. These continue to affect Dalits, also known as “outcastes” or “untouchables”. The significant concentration of Dalit communities in the Khulna division and Bangladesh’s southern coastal belt, (estimated at around 500,000 people), reflects historical, economic and geographical factors.In the specific area of Khulna, the diocesan Caritas, led by Director Daud Jibon Das, has launched relief operations to tackle two major challenges: prolonged flooding in Khulna’s urban slums and the salinization of water reserves in coastal areas.After three consecutive episodes of severe flooding in recent weeks, many urban slums remained submerged, prompting Caritas Khulna to provide immediate assistance. As Bishop Boiragi told Fides, volunteers distributed food and hygiene kits, including rice, cooking oil and essential groceries, to families whose homes had been cut off or inundated.Caritas has also overseen the construction of emergency toilets to reduce the risk of water contamination. At the same time, the “Stronger Together” project—supported by Caritas Italiana—continues to strengthen resilience and recovery in four of Khulna’s largest slum communities through disaster preparedness initiatives and emergency financial assistance.Another pressing concern, Bishop Boiragi said, is the supply of drinking water to combat coastal salinization: in parts of Khulna District close to the coast (such as Koyra and Dacope), heavy rains and flooding have pushed seawater inland, destroying freshwater wells.Local Caritas volunteers are distributing water containers and emergency drinking water to isolated communities while promoting the installation of low-cost filtration systems capable of converting saline water into potable water in flooded villages.The Bishop also warned of another long-term consequence of the floods: severe riverbank erosion (such as the Pashur River), which is steadily swallowing up land and destroying homes. The result is a growing number of “climate-displaced” families in need of shelter, people, he concluded, “for whom the local Catholic community has opened its arms and heart.”(PA) (Fides News Agency, 28/7/2026)
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