Category: Community Worker Profile

Meet the Humanitarians Serving Rohingya Refugees and Local Communities in Bangladesh

8/17/2023

WASH worker Abdu ensures that Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities can access safe drinking water in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangaldesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI)

As World Humanitarian Day approaches, we hear from Rohingya and Bangladeshi humanitarian workers, supported by Community Partners International (CPI), providing essential services to refugees and local communities in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh.

Training Rohingya Traditional Birth Attendants to Support Safe Births

6/27/2023

A Rohingya traditional birth attendant (right) with a mother and child in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI)

In 2021, Community Partners International (CPI) began working with Rohingya traditional birth attendants in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, to encourage pregnant refugee women to give birth safely in health facilities. The results are startling.

World Menstrual Hygiene Day: “When we first started, many women and girls didn’t know about sanitary pads.”

5/26/2023

Naznin (left) and Sweety (center) visit a woman in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, to provide hygiene supplies. (Md. Dipu/CPI)

Around the world, displaced women and girls face challenges accessing good menstrual hygiene. To mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day, we speak to Sweety and Naznin, about their work to help Rohingya refugee women and girls in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, access hygiene and sanitation during menstruation.

CPI-Supported Health Post Launches Mental Health Services for Rohingya Refugees and Bangladesh Host Communities

6/16/2022

Psychologist Rahima Preety provides mental health and pscychosocial support at the CPI-supported health post in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Two months after the opening of mental health and psychosocial support services at the Health Post in Camp 1W of Kutupalong Refugee Camp supported by Community Partners International (CPI), dozens of Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh host community members have sought assistance. Health Post psychologist Rahima Preety talks about the challenges they face and how she works to help them.

International Women’s Day: “There are many girls suffering in silence, too shy to talk about health issues.”

3/8/2022

Raju, a Sexual and Reproductive Health Volunteer supported by Community Partners International in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, helps Rohingya women and girls to access health and hygiene services. (Jennifer de Perise/CPI)

Raju, 51, lives in Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. She works as a Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) volunteer supported by Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill helping Rohingya refugee women and girls to access essential health services. To mark International Women’s Day, Raju spoke to Community Partners International about her work and community, and the health and hygiene challenges faced by women and girls.

An ER Doctor’s Testimony: “Every shift can seem like a tragedy novel. We try our best to save every life we can.”

3/1/2022

Dr. Ashim in the Emergency Department at Sadar Hospital, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI)

When Dr. Ashim started working at the COVID-19 Isolation Unit at Sadar Hospital, Cox’s Bazar, in late 2020, Bangladesh was in the midst of a severe wave of COVID-19. “The pressure was very intense,” he explains. “We were overwhelmed with the number of patients. We had 20 beds but we were receiving more than 40 patients each day. We had to turn some patients away because we didn’t have enough space. The Emergency Department was also full.”

Rohingya Volunteers Help Achieve 97% COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage for Elderly Refugees

9/1/2021

Volunteers supported by CPI help a woman to reach a COVID-19 vaccination center in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh. (CPI)

Living in crowded and cramped conditions, Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. On August 10, 2021, amid a worrying spike in infections, the Government of Bangladesh launched the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for refugees over 55 years of age in Kutupalong Refugee Camp. As the first line of health care, volunteers supported by Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill mobilized to encourage and support eligible community members in Camps 1W and 4 to take up the vaccine.

COVID-19 Contact Tracing in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp

7/15/2021

Rohingya health volunteer Tofayel conducts COVID-19 contact tracing in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI)

"I feel that I am doing an important job for my community. No matter how hard it is, somebody has to do it. In this case, it’s me." Tofayel, Rohingya health volunteer

As Bangladesh experiences a spike in COVID-19 cases, there is rising concern for the 700,000+ Rohingya refugees from Myanmar sheltering in Kutupalong Camp, Cox’s Bazar District. Cramped living conditions and limited access to health services make them especially vulnerable. Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill are supporting Rohingya volunteers to trace contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases and help to contain the spread of the virus within the refugee community.

Changing Vaccine Perceptions Among Rohingya Refugees

5/27/2021

Tasmin (left) is visited by Monjur, a Community Immunization Volunteer supported by Community Partners International and Green Hill. (CPI)

"I didn’t understand what a vaccine was. I just heard that they can leave permanent marks on the skin and cause fever." Tasmin, 24, pregnant mother of two children

Tasmin’s perception of vaccines is fairly common among her fellow Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong, Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee camp. With limited access to accurate health information, misunderstandings and false rumors can travel rapidly within the community.

Community Immunity: Rohingya Immunization Volunteers Poised to Support COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

5/4/2021

Mohammad Taher is a Rohingya Community Immunization Volunteer supported by Green Hill/Community Partners International (CPI) in the world's largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. Each day, he visits households in his neighborhood to help pregnant and women and young children get vaccinated against deadly diseases.