DHAKA: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center is helping build housing for thousands of Bangladeshis rendered homeless by this year’s devastating floods.

Bangladesh — one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change — faced a series of consecutive climate-related disasters this year.

Following the landfall of Cyclone Remal in May, communities in northeastern and southeastern Bangladesh were hit by flash floods and riverine flooding, affecting an estimated 18 million people. Many lost their homes or had them severely damaged.

The KSrelief-funded project launched earlier this week will help build 630 homes in nine worst-affected districts.

“The scale of the destruction highlighted the urgent need for sustainable relief projects,” Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Ambassador Abdulaziz Fahad Al-Ibrahim told reporters in Dhaka.

“(This) program is part of the ongoing humanitarian efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support those affected by natural disasters around the world.”

The homes will be built by KSrelief’s local partner, the Sunbulah Welfare Association, which designed them to resist extreme weather.

“The floor of the houses will be made with concrete, while the walls and roof will be built with tin, which will be strong enough to withstand future flooding and cyclones,” Dr. Mohammad Shakir Hossain, Sunbulah’s founder and chairman, told Arab News.

The construction of one such home is estimated to cost around $1,400.

“We will complete the construction within the next three months. The first phase of construction works will begin next week,” Hossain said.

“More than 3,000 people will receive shelter … It will help a lot of people in the flood- and cyclone-hit areas. Many people in the villages can’t build a house like this. For them, a good shelter is a dream.”

One region where the houses will be built is the southwestern district of Pirojpur.

Imam Hossain, 30, a day laborer whose house was destroyed by Cyclone Remal in May, will be among the program’s beneficiaries.

“This house from KSrelief is a huge blessing for me, as my wife is expecting our first child,” he said. “It was quite impossible for me to afford to build a house on my own.”

In the northern district of Nougaon, many families affected by devastating flooding in June have been living in makeshift shelters ever since.

“It was a sudden flood, and the water levels reached up to 4 feet … Our old house was washed away by floodwaters in front of our eyes. We couldn’t do anything to save it. In the blink of an eye, we became homeless,” said Swadhin Hossain, a student who, along with his parents, grandmother and younger sister, will soon receive a new home.

“We are very happy (that) the authorities selected our family. It was impossible for me and my father to build a new house. I am grateful to KSrelief for standing with my family in this time of need.”

BANGKOK: Thailand has told Myanmar’s junta that ASEAN members would want all stakeholders included in an election the military government plans to hold next year, even as the regional bloc seeks a common position on the polls, Thai officials said on Friday.

“If there is an election, ASEAN would want an inclusive process that included all stakeholders,” Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said in a group interview in Bangkok, after meetings with counterparts and senior diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew an elected civilian government, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.

The military is fighting rebels on multiple fronts, struggling to govern and manage a crumbling economy that was seen as a promising frontier market before the generals ended a decade of tentative democracy.

Thailand this week hosted two separate regional meetings on the crisis in Myanmar, the first involving the junta and its neighbors, including China, Bangladesh and India, followed by one with ASEAN members.

Myanmar’s foreign minister on Thursday briefed attendees on the outline of the junta’s political roadmap and progress toward holding an election, which critics have dismissed as a sham, largely due to the absence and sidelining of opposition groups.

“The neighboring countries said we support Myanmar in finding solutions but the election must be inclusive for various stakeholders in the country,” Maris said, stressing that Myanmar’s neighbors would advise, but not interfere.

Their effort, he said, would also support ASEAN’s Myanmar peace plan, the “Five Point Consensus,” its strategy to diffuse the conflict that has made scant progress.

The proposed Myanmar elections were also part of discussions among ASEAN members at Friday’s meeting, which the junta was not part of, said Thai foreign ministry official Bolbongse Vangphaen.

The bloc is still awaiting details of the polls from the Myanmar side, he said, adding that ASEAN would also need to find a common position on the proposed ballot, which has the backing of regional heavyweights such as China.

China’s vice foreign minister said during Thursday’s meeting in Bangkok that all parties should support Myanmar in advancing its peace and reconciliation process, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.

Sun Weidong said all parties in Myanmar should resolve differences through dialogue and consultation.