(Global Sisters Report. Sumon Corraya).
After the severe cyclonic storm Remal made landfall in Bangladesh, May 26-27, more than a dozen people died, with the heavy rain and strong winds affecting about 3.7 million. During this natural disaster — as well as another severe storm that struck in April — the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions Sisters arranged shelter and provided food in their school for people in the southern Bangladeshi village of Bagerhat, one of the areas most prone to such calamities. “For three days, my wife and I, along with our two children, took shelter at St. Joseph’s Primary School in Basabari, Bagerhat. The nuns and priests welcomed us warmly,” said Raton Banerjee, a 48-year-old cobbler and member of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Bagerhat. Like Banerjee, more than 400 Catholics took shelter in the nuns’ school in Bagerhat due to flash floods that affected their homes. The monthly income for people in this area is typically less than $100 USD.