Cyclone Amphan relief for NLC, Sarberia, India

The Bay of Bengal is prone to storms and cyclones but the one that struck on May 19^th seemed particularly brutal in the current situation of Covid. In Sarberia, where the New Life Centre school (NLC) is located, most of the locals live in mud huts with corrugated rooves. These houses were devastated and although the Government has promised to pay compensation, people know that when this happened in 2008 it took years for the money to come through.

Alindra Naskar, the founder and Director of the NLC, asked if we could help in any way so that the villagers would at least be able to make their houses water tight as the monsoon season was about to start. This is why we started the GlobalGiving appeal.

As the area is low lying the photos show how the water from the Bay flooded the banks and poured into the villages. The destruction is all too plain to see. Alindra was happy to co-ordinate the funding to the villagers of Sarberia, many of whom are staff and parents in the school.

In total, 20 families were helped with the funding received from the appeal, and although Alindra found it difficult to choose who to help in these extreme circumstances, in the end it came down to those families who belonged to the school and whose houses were completely uninhabitable. Some locals also wanted to wait for Government help as they have been told they will receive much more compensation than the appeal could offer.

We can see that the houses were made water tight in time for the monsoon and 20 families are extremely grateful for this timely help.

The appeal raised $1480, money well spent in improving the living conditions of these poor families who are already disadvantaged in this increasingly difficult time.