Unprecedented floods in Tamil Nadu & AP..
Reminder that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime..
Chennai Calling!!
Hundreds of villages, many parts of Chennai submerged in water for many days.
Damage to basic household stuff, structures and valuable assets..
First Goonj communication
Material and monetary
support from all across
India..
Volunteers also pitched in..
Relief Material reached to the flood hit
• 1,00,000+ kgs ration, 28000+ utensils
• 18,000+ blankets ,2 lakh+ clothes, 6000+ Sitting mats ,
11000 shoes• 15,000 sanitary napkins, medicines, mosquito nets ,
toiletries etc..
Our first consignment from Goonj’s
Bangalore office, organizations helped
in transportation
First Priority: Reaching emergency relief material to thousands of families as per need
Some more glimpses of the initial phase..
Team and Volunteers- on the job in Thiruvallur District
A Goonj Center set up on 3rd December in Sriperumbudur (on the outskirts of
Chennai)
Presently Goonj’s Base office & Processing Center at OMR. Will be shifting soon to a new location…
As per Goonj’s time tested Hub & Spoke Rahat model..
Provided basic provisions in initial phase. Second phase; started providing comprehensive Goonj family kits (Each Family Kit has essentials
like light blankets, general clothing, sanitary pads, shoes, soaps, biscuits, utensils, mats, bed sheets
etc)
Working closely with organizations working
with HIV positive, Trans Gender's and sex
workers, one of the most neglected communities..
Partners Positive Women
Network Transgender Rights
AssociationMalarchi
*Faces are blurred due to confidentiality purpose.
Breaking the Myth; People in Chennai won’t accept old clothes; salwar suits in
particular.Reality; Need of clothes emerged as key
need since most clothes were either lost/damaged or soaked in sewer water for
many days
Over 2 lakh meticulously
processed clothes warmly
accepted by people.
What
matters is how you GIVE !!
Nellore (AP), neighboring district of Chennai equally,
affected but hardly in news..
Chennai Nellore
Highway closed for a week due to
damaged roads.
Hundreds of school
children lost their study material..
Goonj relief and rehab operations running simultaneously in Chennai & Nellore..
Medical Camp at Puritipalem ST
Colony
80 benches soaked in floods, were painted and made suitable for use(Perugudi)
Dignified ReliefPeople undertook various community level
works under Goonj’s ‘Cloth for Work’ (CFW) and received
Family Kits.
Locals whole heartedly
embracing the idea of Cloth for
Work in Tamil Nadu & AP
despite having access to free
material.
Our aim has been to work beyond the city as well..Flood- affected communities in over 20 villages in
Pooneri block (Thiruvallur Dist.) participated in Goonj’s CFW initiative. They cleaned their villages
besides plantation and repair works.
Cleaning a 150 meters (approx) long choked irrigation canal
Mosquitoes & muddy streets posing a threat to public health.
Goonj’s long term focus on Cleaning of villages and reviving their local infrastructure
Chemedipalem Village Repairing/construction of 100 meters of drainage
canal. 80 members participated, also cleaned 100 meters
of road.
More than 10,000 kits have been
distributed in Tamil Nadu, and Andhra
Pradesh
A lot of CFW activities, including a large number of
locals
Vyasarpadi, biggest slum of
Chennai,1500+ families
participated in CFW
Fencing of saplings and
plantation work under CFW initiative
Reach and Spread of Work
Reached 15,000+ families in 5 districts. (Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Thiruvallur (TN) &
Nellore (AP)
People accepted clothes under Cloth for Work, Not as charity/relief but with a lot of dignity as a reward for work done in their own areas
Our On Ground Partners
- CCFID - Positive Women Network + - Aathitamilan
- Malarchi - Transgender’s Rights Association - Doctors for You (DFY)
- Ekam Foundation
Key highlights & learning's
• A full time Goonj team of 25 people managing relief operations in Tamil Nadu & AP, with a base coming up in Thoraipakkam.
• Clothing emerged as an important but ignored need in Chennai & other parts. Not a part of relief material provided by most agencies.
• In initial phase Goonj focused on filling gaps and supporting groups, actively working in Chennai when provisions were not accessible.
• Essential supplies also sent to employees of some corporates in dire need of basic amenities.
• Goonj reached many badly affected remote & tribal areas that didn’t get enough attention.
Road Ahead…
Focus on livelihood - our top priority
• Goonj’s ‘Vaapsi’ initiative will identify local occupations and support people with tools lost during floods.
• Extensive work in schools and anganwadis• Reaching out comprehensive School kits to
children in government and small rural and slum private schools
• Providing support in shelter, health and prevention supports
• Work on cleanliness, damage repair of infrastructure through Cloth for Work.
Some stark realities…
Challenges of daily life are becoming more evident as we go deeper in flood- affected areas. Now these areas certainly need greater attention and material support.
City is back on its feet after 2 months of floods but remote areas still have a long way
to go .. Some areas, streets, colonies, still under 3-4 ft water..