There are 11 tribal groups living in the Bandarban Hill district. Mrs. Mayarung (58) belongs to the Tripura tribe. She and her husband, Swaitorang, used to live on jum cultivation but lost all when the rats destroyed their harvest:
"One day I - together with my niece - went to check on our crops. The closer we got to the plot of land, the more worried I got. What if the rats had destroyed part of the crops? And you know what? The rats had destroyed everything, the complete harvest. Not only parts of it. We did not know where and how we would get food now - how we would manage until the next harvest. So we began to search for jungle potato in the jungle and stored them. But - we did not have enough, we were hungry. Then I heard about the food assistance you provide and I was very happy to be accepted in it. Now we could manage!"
Mrs Mayarung continues:
"Please know that this help will remain in our hearts in the days to come: because it came just when we needed it most. I don't know how we would have survived otherwise. We thank God for sending the food to us."
