Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
On Monday, March 16, 2026, the Alhaj Shamsul Haq Foundation, widely known as the ASH Foundation, distributed 400 Ramadan food packages among displaced Rohingya families living in Balukhali Camp 10 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. The initiative brought essential food supplies to some of the most vulnerable families in one of the world’s largest refugee settlements during the holy month of Ramadan.
Each food package contained rice, lentils, cooking oil, and other daily essentials. The items were carefully selected to meet the iftar and sehri needs of a family throughout the month of Ramadan. For hundreds of families with little income and no land to call their own, the packages offered meaningful relief during a month when food demand rises sharply.
The distribution took place under the formal approval of the camp authority. Mohammad Arafatul Islam, the Camp-in-Charge (CIC) of Camp 10, was present throughout the event and extended full cooperation to the foundation’s team. Packages were handed directly to registered families, ensuring the aid reached those it was intended for.
The ASH Foundation stated that the initiative was driven purely by a sense of humanitarian responsibility. The foundation said it wanted to stand beside helpless and displaced people during Ramadan, a time when solidarity and compassion hold special meaning. Moreover, the foundation confirmed that similar humanitarian activities will continue in the future.
The Alhaj Shamsul Haq Foundation has long been active across different regions of Bangladesh. Over the years, it has carried out food assistance programs, education support, and a range of humanitarian activities for poor and disadvantaged communities. However, this initiative marks a visible extension of that work into the Rohingya refugee community in Cox’s Bazar.
The Rohingya living in Balukhali Camp 10 and across the wider Cox’s Bazar settlements are among the most vulnerable populations in South Asia. Displaced from their homeland following a military crackdown in 2017, they depend almost entirely on humanitarian aid for their survival. For many, a food package during Ramadan is not a small gesture. It is the difference between a family sharing iftar together or going without.
Initiatives like this one from the ASH Foundation represent an important complement to larger institutional aid efforts. Private foundations and civil society organizations continue to fill gaps where formal humanitarian systems fall short. Therefore, their role in sustaining the dignity and basic needs of Rohingya families in Bangladesh cannot be overstated.
As Ramadan continues, the 400 families of Camp 10 who received support this week carry with them a reminder that they have not been forgotten.
