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APRIL 2009
IN AZZEDINE ALAÏA.
DECEMBER 2009
CLAIRE BERNARD’S CAUSE: IMPROVING SANITATION
IN A CALVIN KLEIN
JACKET AND L’AGENCE
JEANS AND TEE.
CONDITIONS IN FLOOD-RAVAGED BANGLADESH.
or two years I’ve worked with
Oxfam GB to create an in-
novation fund to test and de-
velop sustainable water and
sanitation technologies, and
some of the fund’s first proj-
ects are in Bangladesh. With
a population of 156 million
in a country the size of Iowa
and an extensive, low-level coastline,
Bangladesh is the prime example of a
nation being affected by climate change
right now. While the country has always
been susceptible to floods and cyclones,
my visit to the southwestern village of
Gabura showed me how unpredictable
and massive the flooding has become.
APRIL 2009 Not that I actually visited Gabura.
IN A PRABAL
GURUNG DRESS Since Cyclone Aila hit, ten months ago,
AND EMILIO it has been submerged under six feet of
PUCCI SANDALS.
stagnant saline water, and its displaced
villagers reside on a thin embankment
NOVEMBER nearby, the tops of their houses peeking
2009
IN MIU MIU. up in the distance. Their temporary huts,
For a daily digest of the week’s chicest parties and most
exclusive events, visit Vogue Daily at vogue.com.
*U
(JSM
TOUR DE FORCE
THE AUTHOR VISITS
PROJECTS IN THE
VILLAGE OF BELKA
NAWABGANJ,
NEAR GABURA.
some with colorful laundry or emergen-
cy blue plastic over them, delicately line
both sides of the embankment, creating
narrow walkways largely occupied by
livestock. There is so much color here—
the pinks and oranges of the women’s
clothing, the greens and browns of the
landscape—and so much water. And it
is all this water that makes it difficult to
build latrines, and that brought us out
to Gabura to see the debut of Oxfam’s
desludger, a pump that empties a latrine
into a nearby storage pit in 20 minutes.
While 2.6 billion people worldwide do
not have access to basic sanitation, few
have access even to group sanitation like
the Gabura camp’s, where latrines are
dangerous and laborious to clean out.
Like most cultures, the Bangladeshi look
down upon people who handle waste
(meanwhile, these are some of the few
jobs available), so I grabbed the lever—
showing that even the tall, blonde for-
eign lady wanted to use it. Š flash >310