A report on Goonj’s comprehensive relief & rehab work in Tamil Nadu and Andhra

Pradesh after an year of unprecedented floods

Chennai Calling..

Hundreds of villages remained submerged in water for many weeks.. While many parts of

city also came to standstill

Massive damage to personal belongings, structures, communication and assets..

Goonj’s first

communication

Material and monetary contributions from all across ..

Volunteers also pitched in..

Goonj’s well-wishers managed initial storage space to kick start the action

1st set up on Dec 3rd

at Sriperumbud

ur

2nd set up at OMR

First Priority: Reaching emergency relief material to thousands of families as per need

Goonj’s time tested ‘Hub and spoke’ model for Rahat

Only need- based provisions were given initially where there was complete breakdown and chaos all

around.. Later the emphasis was on making comprehensive family kits

15000 + family kits have reached so far..

Based on detailed field work and assessment, Goonj decided to set up its base to look after

the immediate and long term needs

Production of 4958 school kits

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

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 kids lost their

study material..

Operated from Nellore (AP) for few months to take care of local needs.. In Nellore alone, Goonj provided over 4200 comprehensive

family kits..

Reviving infrastructure in schools & community spaces

Medical Camp at Puritipalem

ST Colony

Repair and refurbishing in schools- Perugudi

Cleaning a 150 meters long, choked irrigation canal

Idea of working together on what’s bothering flood- hit communities the most got them excited.. As a priority, in many areas people chose cleaning of villages as a first

task under Goonj’s ‘Cloth for work’..

Making kitchen garden and fencing..

Reaching the most far- flung areas.. Getting people to plug the critical gaps that affects their lives and inculcating the sense of ownership..

Pond cleaning..

People choose Dignity over relief.. In over 100 villages, more than 11000 people

participated in various community level works under Goonj’s ‘Cloth for Work’ (CFW) and received Family Kits

as a reward..

Reclaiming Pond

Reaching the neglected

communities HIV positive people

Transgender Bonded laborers

Tribal Differently-able and

autistic children

Learning with Pride.. Matching the needs.. Reaching schools with essential school supplies like school kits,

stationary, shoes which acts as a motivation for children to come to school. Their joy doubles- up when they receive

material as rewards instead of Charity.

Kid’s joy, excitement and desire to share what all they learn, observe and what all bothers them

through charts, models, drawings, skits etc. shows the amazing talent and interest to improve their

surroundings ..

Goonj also channelized shoes & other support material in 20 special homes working with

children ..

VAAPSICreate / revive local occupation..

Identifying the gaps and exploring employment opportunities for people where ‘Material capital’ could help revive the

existing professions of affected people. So far 230 families have been supported after detailed survey and need

assessment.

Cashew Cutting- a popular common trade in Cuddalore . Provided Cashew cutting machines to 50

flood effected families

Narikkuravar women from Nagapattinam District are supported with beeds & fancy items to start their

livelihood..

Sujni; An income generation initiative.. Turning last shreds of leftover clothes into a durable mattress.

5000 Sujnies made so far

Summary of Goonj’s relief & rehab work..

A 40 member team in Chennai handling the operations, including a parallel unit in Pattabiram. 400 tonnes of relief and Rehabilitation material has been sent to various parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.. Over 3,00,000 meticulously processed clothes warmly accepted by people. What matters is how you GIVE !! 15000 comprehensive family Kits have been given in the most far- flung areas in 4 districts of Tamil Nadu & 1 district of Andhra Pradesh i.e. Nellore. Tied up with 30 local partners to work on some immediate short & long term work Reached over 100 villages as a part of Cloth for work wherein more than 11000 people affected by floods worked on various development work like pond cleaning, making roads etc. and received Goonj kits as a reward. On material front ; 43000+ shoes, 5000 +Sujnies (made locally) , 2000 + School Kits , 3 lakh + clothes, 400 + Solar lights, tonnes of dry ration, medicines etc, 18000+ blankets in a year. Revived and supported Livelihood opportunities under Vaapsi (Goonj’s livelihood initiative). 230 families have been supported so far.

Some highlights & learnings.. On Dec. 4th 2015, Goonj’s ‘Rahat- Floods’ campaign was

launched pan- India and handled massive quantities of relief material at our Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad offices.

Goonj’s facebook page carried the key messages around the urgent needs from the ground, basic do’s & don’ts, the role of volunteers in cities and field.

In the initial phase, when city and its surrounding were totally water logged, Goonj focused on filling gaps and supported groups actively working in the affected areas.

Clothing emerged as an important but ignored need. It was not a part of relief material provided by most agencies due to a lot of pre conceived notions.

Goonj reached many badly affected remote & tribal areas that didn’t get enough attention in Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh.

Our On Ground Partners Danirasa Foundation Tribal Society Women Development Trust Adhi Thamilar Vidudhalai Iyakkam New Life Trust CCFID Networking Development of service Organisation  Unorganised workers federation Rural Development Trust Malarchi Positive Women Network + Doctors for You (DFY) Ekam Foundation Transgender’s Rights Association Springs charitable trust and some more..

Our Sincere thanks to.. • Our well-wishers who managed to get us storage space in the

initial phase. With tons of material coming in this was the most crucial need.

• Amazon’s prompt logistics support was a great support, especially in the initial phase, when there was major breakdown in transportation and communication.

• ABB India, Johnson & Johnson, CIPLA, Flipkart , Marico India & many more paid great attention to what is needed on the ground and contributed material as per the needs..

• Apart from hundreds of individuals a timely financial support from Institutions like WIPRO Cares, Morgan Stanley, Ernst & Young , Via Com, Citrux, Lal Family foundation, Flipkart and R&D India Pvt. Ltd, etc. for relief and long term rehabilitation work.

Thank You..!!