Battling the Cold: Winter Relief 2024-2025

Project Duration: December 2024 - January 2025

Locations: Saidpur & Rangpur

Fundraising Goal: 50,000 BDT

Actual Raised: 100,000+ BDT (200% of goal)

Impact: 200+ blankets distributed

Winter in northern Bangladesh isn't just uncomfortable—it's deadly. As temperatures plunge to 4°C in districts like Rangpur and Saidpur, the homeless, elderly, and economically vulnerable face life-threatening cold without adequate protection. For many, a simple blanket represents the difference between survival and tragedy.

Hashi Ekshathe's Winter Relief campaign responded to this urgent need with a mission to provide warmth, dignity, and hope to those battling the harsh winter.

Understanding the Crisis

Bangladesh's northern regions experience extreme cold during December and January. While middle-class families bundle in warm clothes indoors, homeless individuals sleep on streets and pavements. Day laborers in makeshift shelters lack resources for warm bedding. Elderly people living alone cannot afford proper winter protection.

Hypothermia-related deaths occur every winter, often unreported in official statistics. Beyond mortality, extreme cold causes severe respiratory infections, joint problems, and compromised immune systems—health impacts that persist long after winter ends.

The Campaign

We set an ambitious goal: raise 50,000 BDT to distribute 100 blankets across Rangpur and Saidpur. Each blanket cost approximately 500 BDT—affordable to donors, invaluable to recipients.

Our social media campaign combined compelling photography, beneficiary stories, and transparent donation tracking. We updated our public donation log every few hours, showing exactly how funds were being raised and deployed. This transparency built extraordinary trust.

The response exceeded our wildest expectations. Within weeks, donations surpassed 100,000 BDT—200% of our goal. Students contributed 50 BDT, families donated 5,000 BDT, community members gave what they could. The collective response demonstrated Bangladeshis' deep compassion when shown genuine need.

Distribution Days

Our Rangpur team coordinated with local community leaders to identify the most vulnerable individuals. We focused on those sleeping outdoors, elderly living alone, and families in temporary shelters with no winter protection.

Distribution wasn't transactional—volunteers spent time with beneficiaries, learning their stories, sharing tea, building human connections. Many recipients broke down in gratitude, not just for physical warmth but for being seen and cared for by their community.

One elderly man shared through tears, "I thought society had forgotten people like me. This blanket will keep me warm, but your visit warmed my heart."

Beyond Blankets

While blankets provided immediate life-saving warmth, the campaign achieved broader impacts. We raised public awareness about winter vulnerability and climate inequality—how economic circumstances determine who suffers from weather extremes. We demonstrated youth capacity for professional large-scale operations. We built donor trust through radical transparency, creating foundation for future campaigns.

The campaign also transformed our volunteers. Many had never deeply engaged with poverty's realities. Distributing blankets to people sleeping on cold pavements changed their understanding of privilege, responsibility, and community.

Climate Justice Context

Winter relief isn't charity—it's climate justice. Bangladesh contributes minimally to global warming yet suffers disproportionately from climate extremes. Within Bangladesh, the poorest face the worst impacts while contributing least to environmental degradation.

Our winter campaign acknowledged these injustices while providing immediate relief. Long-term solutions require systemic change, but immediate action saves lives today.

Continuing Commitment

The 2024-2025 campaign's success established winter relief as an annual Hashi Ekshathe program. Each winter, we'll mobilize to provide warmth and dignity to those battling the cold.

We're exploring partnerships for sustainable funding, expanding geographic reach, and incorporating health education about winter safety. The goal is ensuring no Bangladeshi faces winter's deadly cold without protection.

Support winter relief: Bkash/Nagad +880 17 1371 7006

Website: www.hashiekshathe.org

Every 500 BDT = 1 life-saving blanket