Unprecedented floods in Tamil Nadu & AP..Reminder that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime..

Chennai Calling!!Goonj RAHAT relief effort..

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 communities..

• 55,000+ kgs ration , 28000+ utensils 18,000+ blankets , 2 lakh+ clothes, 6000+

Sitting mats , 11000 shoes• Sanitary napkins, medicines, mosquito

nets , toiletries etc..

Amazon also transported about 55 tons of material

from various Goonj centers

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)

Present Goonj 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 !!

Reality check after 2 Months

City is back on its feet but remote areas still have a long way to go .. Some areas, streets, colonies, still under 3-4 ft water..

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

Dignified Giving (in the second phase) People 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

(Tiruvallur 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

(chennai), and Andhra Pradesh (Nellore)

A total of 21 CFW activities, including a large number of locals

Vyasarpadi, biggest slum of Chennai,

1833 families participated in CFW

Fencing of saplings and plantation work under CFW initiative

Govt. Higher Sec. School in Perungudi 80 pairs of benches soaked in flood water, made usable by painting them. Supported another school (with 120 differently able children) with all kinds

of basic school material.

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 up in Thuraipakkam.

• 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.

• Reaching out comprehensive School kits to children in government and small rural and slum private schools

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.

Thank You !!

Write ; mail@goonj.org Web; www.goonj.org goonj.org goonj