www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
CHENNAI FLOOD RELIEF OPERATIONS 2015
A Report on Sri Arunodayam’s Involvement
November 14, 2015 to January 05, 2016
Home Provisions
Distribution School Kits Distribution
Food Distribution
Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust,
35, Sivananda Nagar, Kolathur,
Chennai – 600099 (TN), India
# 9444915803
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
A Background
Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust is a registered organisation that works for the well-
being of mentally challenged children who have been abandoned by their families.
Opened in 2002, the organization wasfounded on firm humanitarian values of love,
care, and tireless service, enabling it to handleany humanitarian crises as they arise.
Although Sri Arunodayam’s main focus is on abandoned, mentally challenged children,
it could not turn its eyes away from the terrible plight of other suffering people,
especially during the recent floods in Chennai.
And so, armed with a heart for action, Sri Arunodayam opened its doors to all during
this critical period, and together with the help of compassionate donors and volunteers,
set about making an impact in the lives of those affected.
After the first ten days of relief work, Good Shepherd School, Nungambakkam joined
hands with Sri Arunodayam and more than 50,000meals,2,000school kits and
5,000ration kitswere distributed in the surrounding areas.
Through the effective use of Social Media, Sri Arunodayam was able toreach a global
audience, which helped garner resources within a short time. The text in italics in this
report are excerpts from the posts made on Facebook. (For more information and
pictures on this entire operation, please visit our FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/iyyappan.subramaniyan.73)
This report chronologically describes the relief work that wasspearheaded by Sri
Arunodayam and its volunteer groups.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
How it all began…
The northeast monsoon was late in Tamil Nadu but when it did show up, nothing could
have prepared the people of Chennai for a disaster of such epic proportions!
On the 9th of November 2015 the heavy rains began. The roads in Sivananda Nagar -
where Sri Arunodayam has its office and Girls Home – were flooded. We decided to
move the girls and the infants to a safer place - our facility at Madanankuppam.
Little did we know that we were embarking on a long journey of relief work that went
well beyond the care ofourchildren at Sri Arunodayam.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
Flood Relief Operations - Phase I (Basic Needs)
14 November 2015
On this day, we witnessed the first signs of flood fury in the Kolathur area - the locality
where Sri Arunodayam operates. Iyyappan Subramaniyan (Founder) posted the
following message on Facebook:
There are many families in and around Kolathur that are badly affected by the heavy
rains and are in need of food. I want to help these families by providing them with meals
from tomorrow. For this, I need rice, dhal, vegetables, salt, and masala items to be able
to cater for meals for around 500 people. I request you to help by donating the
provisions, which I will collect from your homes. Please contact me on 9444915803 for
more information. Thank You.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
15 November 2015
This humble request was answered byseveral donors who provided groceries,
vegetables, money, and other resources. Quite a number of them turned up at
our doorstep volunteering to prepare, cook, and distribute the food. Thus, the
Food Distribution activity commenced with lunch on the 15th of November
2015.
Over the next few days this grew to preparing and distributing all three meals -
breakfast, lunch, and dinner - and travelling to locations where people were in
dire need of food.
Food distribution at Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kolathur. Thank you so much for your
support. We provided lunch for 250 people today. We are preparing food for the people
of ThirumalNagar now. Distribution will start at 5 pm. Do join us if you are anywhere
near Kolathur andVinayagapuram.
Food distributed to the people of Thirumal Nagar (Kolathur). Thank you so much, friends, for
your timely support. Today, we provided food for more than 500 people who were badly
affected by the rain. I would like to continue food distribution for the next 5 days, so please
help again by donating provisions. We need rice, dhal, oil, ghee, red chillies, tamarind,
sambar powder, salt, and vegetables like carrots, beans, potatoes, brinjals, drumsticks and
green chillies.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
16 and 17 November 2015
We distributed foodtothe residents of Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Kolathur.
Sri Arunodayam received calls from VyasarpadiJeeva Nagar requesting for food.
We promised to send them breakfast on the 18th.
Iyyappan posted a request on Facebook, saying:If you are nearVyasarpadiJeeva,
please help people with food today.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
18 November 2015
In SIDCO Nagar and in some places near ICF (Integral Coach Factory) there was
no water, electricity,or food available for three days. With the support of
donors,we provided sambar rice and vegetable biriyani to the people in these
areas.
Iyyappan's Facebook post that day: Anybody interested in volunteering or
sponsoring?Please get in touch with us.
And the volunteers kept pouring in…
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
19 November 2015
Food was distributed to the people living in Sathankadu, North Chennai. Today's
food was prepared at Freedom Bakery by the inmates of Puzhal Prison.
Sri Arunodayam received relief material from the Chennai Rain Relief (CRR)
team. Themats and drinking water bottles were distributedthe next day at
SIDCO Nagar.
Sri Arunodayam’s kitchen team prepared food for distributionin Kolathur,
SIDCO Nagar,and Ennore.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
20 November 2015
Food and water were distributed to people who took refuge in the
Thirukandalam (EllapuramOndrium) Relief Camp.
Food, plastic mats, bedsheets, and water were distributed among families
living in KannagiNagar.
Breakfast was distributed to people in BharathRajiv Gandhi Nagar.
Homemade idly and sambarwere also prepared by our donors.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
21and 22 November 2015
Food was distributed to the people ofKannagiNagar and Bharath Rajiv Gandhi
Nagar.
Food, water, bedsheets and plastic mats were distributed to the gypsy
communities living in Annaikattu at Thamaripaakam.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
23 and 24 November 2015
Food was distributed to the people ofBharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar.
The distribution was facilitated by Good Shepherd School, Nungambakkam
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
27 November 2015
Bread and water were distributedto Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar by the
employees of Bank of Baroda.
Bedsheets, plastic mats, and drinking water were distributed to 315 families in
Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagarin Kolathur.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
27 November 2015
The Commissioner of the Corporation of Chennai was very impressed withthe relief
work being carried out by Sri Arunodayam and Good Shepherd School.
The Corporation invited the team to make a presentation during itsZonal Officers
Meeting on the 27th November. The relief work was appreciated by all the officers.
To avoid work duplication, it was agreed that wework in co-ordination with the
Corporation for the next phase of relief operations.
The encouragement and support we received was good motivation for us.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
28 and 29 November 2015
Volunteers from Good Shepherd School and Sri Arunodayam visited Ellaikudi, TV
Nallore and Samathuvapuram in CuddaloreDistrict,and distributed bedsheets,
mats, rice, clothes, vessels, bread and biscuits to more than 500 families.
Students from Women's Christian College and School of Excellence in Law helped
us with the distribution.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
02 December 2015
Food was distributed in Arani and Periyapalayam areas.
The Chennai Rain Relief 2015 Control Room co-ordinated the rescue of
thousands of people and served as a hub to connect them with relief camps and
medical care centers.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
3 December 2015
Food was distributed to the people living on the banks of the KosasaiRiver near
ThirukandalamVillage, ThiruvallurDistrict.
In addition, food was distributed to more than 4000 peoplein the following
areas:Kannagi Nagar and Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kolathur,
Naravaarkuppan,and Redhills; and in ThiruvallurDistrict:Kannigaiper,
Thirukandalam, and Anna Nagar near ThirukandalamVillage.
Iyyappan posted a request on Facebook requesting forbottled drinking water, as
people were in dire need of safe drinking water.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
4 December 2015
Iyyappan posted helpline numbers on Facebook to rescue stranded or missing
children.
Food and waterwere distributed to more than 5000 peoplein the following
areas: In Chennai -Surapallam MGR Nagar, near PadiJunction -Naravaarkuppam
inRedhills, and in Thiruvallur - Manjankarnai, Kannigaiper, Thirukandalamand
Anna Nagar near Thirukandalam village.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
5 December 2015
Sri Arunodayam’s team reached out to eight areas in Chennai and
ThiruvallurDistricts and distributed food, water, and biscuits to 4700 people.
With the support of individuals and organizations across the world, the relief
work continues...
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
7 December 2015
900 portions of lunch and dinner, 900 water bottles, and fresh and toned
milkwere distributedin Pencil Factory, Katbada and IOC.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
7 December 2015
Sri Arunodayam provided food and water to 4400 people in North Chennai and
Thiruvallur districts.
The areas covered included: Britons Road and New VenkateshapuramMain Road
in Puliyanthope, KosappurVillage, GnayaruVillage, Thiruvallur Nagar in Kolathur,
AnnaiSathiya Nagar in Rettaieri, SIDCO Nagar in Villivakkam, UdaviOrphanage in
Koyambedu, Bhagavathi Amman Kovil Street in Kolathur, Korukkupet and Mint
Area
Relief material was received, sorted, packed, and arranged for distribution at Sri
Arunodayam.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
8 December 2015
Food, water and bread were distributedin BrindavanThamaraiNagar near
Surapet, Ambethkar Nagar in Kolathur, Athipet, Vettuvankeni, Thiruvottriyur and
KosappurVillages.
Volunteers distributed relief material in Thiruvottriyur.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
9 December 2015
Food, water, and bread were distributedin RallapadiTribals in Periyapalam,
Maduranthagam lake areas, Manali new town, Vinoba Nagar, Rajaji Nagar near
Thiruvottriyur, and Kannigapuram in Puliyanthope.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
Flood Relief Operations - Phase II (Provision Kits)
10 December 2015
Rice, dhal, oil and biscuits were distributed to 125 families in
ManjankarnaiVillage near Periyapalayam.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
11 December 2015
The older children and adult residents of Sri Arunodayam assisted the staff in
packing the Ration Kits! These children are truly special in every way!
The Ration Kits contained rice, dhal, oil, salt, and sugar. In addition to the kits,
plastic mats were distributed to 500 families living in Bhuvanagiri near
Chidambaram.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
12 December 2015
A volunteer collected water bottles, biscuits, milk powder, bedsheets, towels,
bread, napkins, mosquito coils, new shirts, and cloth bags and distributed these
materials in CuddaloreDistrict with the help of Sri Arunodayam’s team.
Sri Arunodayam and Good Shepherd School, Nungambakkam, jointly distributed
relief material to the most affected people in Bhuvanagiri near Chidambaram,
CuddaloreDistrict.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
13 December 2015
150 Ration Kits were distributed to the residents of Kannagi Street, Retteri in
Kolathur.
14 December 2015
Ration Kitswere distributed to 211 families in AnnaiSathiya Nagar, Rettaieri in
Kolathur.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
15 December 2015
Sri Arunodayam’s team went to Uthiramerur, a Taluk in KancheepuramDistrict,
near Chennai. The villages surrounding this block are Mallikapuram, Marutham,
Karuveppampoondi, MGR Nagar and Maruthuvambadi.
A total of 402 families reside here and all of them are daily wage labourers. The
floods had severely affected these people and they were really happy to receive
Ration Kits containing rice, dal, oil and spices.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
16 December 2015
Ration Kits were distributed to 265 families inBagavathi Amman Street and
OdaikaraiVinayagarKovil Street in Kolathur.
17 December 2015
Provision Kits were distributed to 280 families in Balaji Nagar, Kolathur.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
18 December 2015
Sri Arunodayam’s Team, and Good Shepherd School distributed Provision Kits to
600 families in Murukanchery, Mulli, Ulunthamangalam, Arcot, Vedal,
Veeranakunnam, Valarprai and MunnuthukuppamVillages. These villages are
located near Maduranthakam.
Most of these people have lost their homes and cattle, and suffered huge crop
damage due to the floods.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
24 December 2015
For the past 20 years, 15 Irular familieshave been residing in MelsempaduVillage
near Periyapalayam. They were badly affected and theirhomes destroyed.
We distributed Kits containing plastic mats, bedsheets, towels, and provisions.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
27 December 2015
We distributed Provision Kits, plastic mats and bedsheets to 120 visually
challenged and 10 physically challenged families residing in the flood affected
settlements of Chennai and Thiruvallur Districts.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
2 January 2016
Sri Arunodayam’s Team and the Good Shepherd Team visited Melsembedu
village once again. As there is no electricity in this village, the team distributed
solar lamps and tarpaulin sheets to all the families.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
5 January 2015
Provision Kits were distributed to 360 families at Bharat Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in
Kolathur, which was badly affected by the floods.
Provision Kits were also distributed to 50 visually challenged families.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
Flood Relief Operations - Phase III (School Kits)
15 December 2015
This primary school in Madanankuppam opened on the 14th December after a
hiatus of 33 days. Around 78 children study here. Sri Arunodayam’sTeam
distributed Kits -each containing a school bag, a bottle of water, a biscuit packet,
and a banana, to the children. These children come from the flood affected
settlements in and around the area.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
16 December 2015
Sri Arunodayam’s Team reached out to another needy School in Ayanambakkam.
This is a Government Primary School where 106 children study across Classes I - 5.
They live nearby and their parents are mostly daily wage labourers. This area
suffered much damage due to the floods and continues to be waterlogged. The
school premises, unfortunately,was inundatedas well but it decided to re-open. So
classes are being conducted at the nearbyLibrary. Sri Arunodayam provided
school bags, stationery and biscuits to the 106 children.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
17 December 2015
We distributed school bags, stationery, and biscuits to 260 children at
SurapetGovernment Primary School in Chennai.
23 December 2015
School bags, stationery, and biscuits were distributed to 155 children studying
in the Villivakkam Primary School, ThiruvallurDistrict.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
2 January 2016
School bags and stationery were distributed to 185 students in Kathervedu and
SembeduVillages in ThiruvallurDistrict. These villages were heavily affected by
the floods.
5 January 2015
School bags were distributed to 50 visually challenged families.
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
They made it happen...
The relief work, which commenced on the 14th of November 2015began small but grew
into one giganticservice operation. It was a new and different experience for us each
day! The places, the people, and the sharing taught us many lessons, helping us enjoy
the experience of beingtruly humane.Sri Arunodayam’sTeam distributed all the relief
materialsreceived, to the most critically affected.
While the above pages illustrate our relief operations in detail, the ones below are an
ode to those who so generously donated in cash and kind and who actually made it all
happen!
We take this opportunity to thank each of our donors who supported us in every
possible way. We believe that their benevolence will continue to light up the lives of
those who were affected.
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
1 Ms. Aarthi Harna
2 Mrs. Aarthi Madhusudanan
3 Mr. Anand& Friends, Australia
4 Mr. Anand Padmanaban, Chennai
5 Mr. Anand VaishnavEgattur
6 Mr. Anandha KormathRajagopalan, USA
7 Mr. Arunkumar
8 Mr. Balaje Ramachandran, Chennai
9 Mr. Balachandar, Chennai
10 Ms. Bagyalakshmi, Chennai
11 Ms. Bhavani, Chennai
12 Mr. Bhabatosh
13 Mr. Biharilal, Chennai
14 Mr. Chenchu RamaiahVadla, Andhra Pradesh.
15 Ms. Deepa, Chennai
16 Ms. Deepa Arvind Chennai
17 Mr. Deepak Raj, Chennai
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
18 Mr. Deepak Yashwanth
19 Mr. Divesh Aiya, Chennai
20 Mr. Gandhi.R, Chennai
21 Mr.Ganesh Santhanam
22 Ms. Garima Rawat, Pune
23 Ms. Gayathri
24 Ms. Gayathri, Chennai
25 Ms. Geethanjali
26 Mr. Govindarajan, Chennai
27 Mr. Gowri Shankar.S
28 Mr. Guruprasad, Chennai
29 Ms. Janani, Chennai
30 Mrs. Jayashree Kannan, Chennai
31 Mr. Jayendra & Team
32 Mr. Jolly Ghatak
33 Ms. Jyothi, Chennai
34 Mr. Karthick Govind, USA
35 Mr. Karthic Anbu, Salem
36 Mrs. Kavitha Rajaram, Chennai
37 Mrs. Ln. Kalamathy
38 Mr. Krishna Mohanraj Ravuri,Telungana
39 Ms. Kirti Fomra, Chennai
40 Mr. Lakshmanan
41 Mrs. Latha Subramaniyan
42 Mr. Madhavan, Chennai
43 Mr. Mahadevan – Oriental Cuisines chennai
44 Maiko Okada
45 Mrs. Malarvizhi
46 Mr. Manoj, Chennai
47 Ms. Mareli Roy, Chennai
48 Ms. Mini Joseph, USA
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
49 Mr. Mithesh M, Chennai
50 Mr. Muralidharan P, Chennai
51 Mrs. Mythili Padmanaban
52 Mr. Nagaraj Vairam, Chennai
53 Mr. Nagarajan K, Chennai
54 Ms. Nilab, Germany
55 Mr. Padhu Srinivasan, Chennai
56 Mrs. Padma Anand, Chennai
57 Mr. Parameshwaran, Chennai
58 Mrs. Pavithra Kishore – & Nathella Family, Chennai
59 Mr. Peter, Chennai
60 Mr. Prabhu Kumar, Chennai
61 Mr. Prabhuram.P.R, Chennai
62 Mr. Prakasam Anand, Chennai
63 Mr. Prakash, Chennai
64 Mr. Ragu Ganesan, Trichy
65 Mr. Ramadurai P.K, Pune
66 Mr. Ramamurthy, Chennai
67 Mr. RamasamyT
68 Mr. Ramji Subramanian, Australia
69 Ms. Ramya, Chennai
70 Mrs. Ramya Murai, Chennai
71 Mr. RamyaVenkatraman, Chennai
72 Mrs. Rinku Mecheri
73 Mr. Roshan, Chennai
74 Mrs. Ln. Radharani, Chennai
75 Mr. SanjivKumar, Chennai
76 Mrs. Sasirekha Natarajan
77 Ms. SathyakumariK
78 Mrs. Sayeeshwari Raja, Chennai
79 Inspector Selvakumar& Family
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
80 Mr. Sendhil Manian
81 Mr. SenthilKumar, Chennai
82 Mr. Shankar T, Chennai
83 Mr. Shanmuga Sethu, Chennai
84 Mrs. Shyamala Ashok, Chennai
85 Mr. Sitheek Usman M, Chennai
86 Ms. Sowmya Simhan, Chennai
87 Mr. Sriganesh, Mumbai
88 Mr. Sri Giriprasath.K.S, Chennai
89 Mr. Sri Ram T, Chennai
90 Mr. Sudhakar Govindasamy& Friends, USA
91 Mrs. Sujatha Sundar, Chennai
92 Mrs. Sunita Narayanan, Chennai
93 Mr. Tamil Selvan, Chennai
94 Mr. Trinath, Chennai
95 Ms. Vaishnavi Jeyakumar, Chennai
96 Mr. ValluruSundarsana
97 Mrs. Vandana Gopikumar, Chennai
98 Mr. Velshankar.BThoothukudi
99 Mr. N. Venkat Krishnan – Give India
100 Mr. Vijay Bhaskaran
101 Mr. Vimal Raj.B
www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]
INSTITUTIONAL DONORS
1 Ababil Health Care Pvt .Ltd., Chennai
2 Asia Tunnelling & Construction Pvt.Ltd.
3 AV Masala Foods Pvt.Ltd., Bangalore
4 Bhoomika Trust, Chennai
5 BIG-FM Listeners, Chennai
6 Caring Souls Trust, Chennai
7 Chennai Rain Relief 2015 Team
8 Dishaa Charitable Trust, USA
9 Give India, Mumbai
10
Good Shepherd Matric HR Sec School, Nungambakkam,
Chennai
11 Lions Club of Chennai - Golden Roses, Chennai
12 Lucas-TVS, Chennai
13 Marikani Store, Chennai
15 Oriental Cuisines Chennai
16 Teknomec, Chennai
17 Thirumal Nagar Residents Welfare Association, Chennai
18 Toy Bank, Mumbai
19 United Way of Chennai
