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Alo's son Sunny, age 8, and neighbours outside the family house.

Alo Basfur has lived in one tiny room with her husband and three sons. Her family face a dire hygiene situation, resulting in her children getting sick with fever headache and diarrhea. The lack of sanitation and waste removal system means that her home gets waterlogged by soiled water. Her family have also experienced fire. “There was a fire a year ago. I grabbed by three sons and left immediately, we couldn’t return home for three hours. Generally if there’s a fire the whole place goes up in flames. I felt really bad that my neighbours place went up – I was really worried about my own house too of course.”

Alo Basfur lives in Horijon Polli, a slum in which all residents are from the low-caste Hindu sweeper community. The community are ostracised from wider society and there are very few employment opportunities for them beyond cleaning. Oxfam are building a latrine block in Horijon Polli and are working with partners NGO Forum to support residents.

Photo: Tom Pietrasik
Mymensingh, Bangladesh
November 18th 2014
Copyright
©Tom Pietrasik
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5760x3840 / 5.8MB
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OXFAM GB ANNUAL REPORT, BANGLADESH
Alo's son Sunny, age 8, and neighbours outside the family house. <br /> <br /> Alo Basfur has lived in one tiny room with her husband and three sons. Her family face a dire hygiene situation, resulting in her children getting sick with fever headache and diarrhea. The lack of sanitation and waste removal system means that her home gets waterlogged by soiled water. Her family have also experienced fire. “There was a fire a year ago. I grabbed by three sons and left immediately, we couldn’t return home for three hours. Generally if there’s a fire the whole place goes up in flames. I felt really bad that my neighbours place went up – I was really worried about my own house too of course.”<br /> <br /> Alo Basfur lives in Horijon Polli, a slum in which all residents are from the low-caste Hindu sweeper community. The community are ostracised from wider society and there are very few employment opportunities for them beyond cleaning. Oxfam are building a latrine block in Horijon Polli and are working with partners NGO Forum to support residents.<br /> <br /> Photo: Tom Pietrasik<br /> Mymensingh, Bangladesh<br /> November 18th 2014