Chennai floods-help rebuild 3000 children's lives

Tamil Nadu had been receiving intense bursts of rain from early November beginning right after Deepavali festival. On November 12-13, the city and its surroundings received 10-15 cm of rain, most of it in an one-hour cloudburst.  After that some of our working area slums are affected by the floods. In fact we have started our rehabilitation work in Velachery area after this. But the November month rain   was a precursor to the floods of December 1-3, drowned parts of the city. There was darkness at morning, noon and night for three days in Chennai, starting December 1. It was the climax of the devastating rains of November, and the water went everywhere. It was all-consuming and relentless. The rains have broken a 100 year record with one day’s rainfall covering one month’s average.

All our staff members’ houses and personally our house also were  flooded, so we could not move to our working areas, we ourselves needed help.  December 5^th the water started receding and Chennai slowly started limping back and we started our rehabilitation work in all our working areas. Our entire target women and children’s families are affected, that is nearly 10,000 families. Initially we started coordinating with other organizations that were doing relief activities; most of them had no idea of how to distribute the relief materials since they have no contact in the slums.  So some group of people collected most of the relief materials by   standing on the main road or entrance of the slums.  We contacted these organizations and our staff members and Snehidhi adolescent girls association leaders coordinated the relief activities by collaborating with other organizations. We took the relief material to the interior areas of slums and made sure the affected people, particularly women get relief materials.  We could able reach 30-35 slums and help nearly 12,000 women particularly our target women to get basic survival materials like food materials, vessels and dress. Our medical camps in collaboration with Hindu Mission Hospitals helped people of 10 slums.

The task was so huge and we do not have enough resources both material and human resource.  So even though we wanted to help all the people we could not do and started focusing on our CBOs-Community Based Organization members that is Manushi trade union for domestic workers, Maithri Single women’s association and Snehidhi adolescent girls association.  Once we received initial support from Globalgiving, we had meetings with women and adolescent girls and it was decided to spend the money on adolescent girls that is for buying a set of dress, 2 notebooks, pen and pencil, sanitary napkins,  a bag and some eatables like biscuits.  So we have selected 300 girls the members of Snehidhi association, most of them are daughters from women headed families and distributed the materials to them.  The distribution was done in adolescent girls meetings or by house visits.

We have also noticed children are traumatized and consulted psychiatrists and counselors.  They said children are suffering from PTSD Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.  Based on their suggestions we have organized activities like drawing, painting, role play, discussions to help children let out their feelings about the flood and their experiences.  Nearly 600  girls participated in these activities.  During January Pongal festival, an important harvest festival arrived and we thought it was a good opportunity to help children celebrate and forget about floods. On January 14^th we have organized Pongal festival in Ambedkar Nagar, Velacherry, the whole event was organized by the Snehidhi adolescent girls association members.  The new dress for 300 girls was distributed prior to Pongal festival, so that they can wear it for Pongal festival.  The community hall was decorated and girls and their mothers cooked Pongal (sweet rice) and distributed.  An exhibition of their painting and drawings were also organized and people visited it.  They have also organized a cultural programme.  Children, their parents and other community members enjoyed the whole day celebrating Pongal.

Nearly 900 families living around Adyar and affected by the floods are shifted Ezhilnagar, and given houses by the Tamilnadu Slum Clearance Board.  They are happy to have their own solid houses but at the same time worried about their livelihood sources, children’s education. Ezhilnagar is part of Kannagi nagar our working area so we also started working with the shifted families; initially giving relief materials to adolescent girls.

The major loss for the people is their labour, nearly for a month they were out of work.  Construction work is completely stopped and that is the major employment providing sector.  Street vending also stopped for nearly a month.  Other work like domestic also women did not go because they have to organize their homes, collect relief materials that are available only if they are at homes. Another important issue is during the last few years many of the families started enrolling their children in private schools because of the poor quality of education in government schools, in private schools they have to pay monthly fees. In the present condition they may not able to pay the fees.  Girl children studying in private schools will become the victims if the family cannot pay the fees and want to withdraw their children.  So we are working on solutions to address the livelihood source and children’s school fees.  We are discussing with women, children and teachers and other organizations.  In the coming months we will be involved in strengthening the livelihood sources of women and find ways to pay the fees for girl children particularly who are in 9^th standard and above.

As usual during this disaster, people lost everything and without work it is the women who managed the families, provided food, care to their families.  When we visited the slums one more thing we noticed is the way children protected their pets like dogs and cats and keeping it with them, we are not only moved by it but also gained confidence and hope to continue our work to rebuild the lives affected by this natural disaster.