Cyclone Fani Aftermath - Help Rebuild Odisha

We organized a one day training program for Fani affected community in Karimpur, Bramhagiri, who have began to rehabilitate and strengthen their livelihood avenues. Our objective is to help them in adopting organic farming technique and ensuring nutritious food & clean drinking water to women and children. We have initiated a series of workshop on organic farming. The training focused on these core learning:-

1. Preparation of Organic manure
2. Preparation of organic pesticide and innovative and non threatening techniques to keep away cows and buffaloes from field.
3. Bed preparation for vegetable cultivation in kitchen garden
4. Effective and cost effective method of water purification.

In our endeavor, we were assisted by Ms. Sabarmati from Sambhav NGO.

Millions of trees were uprooted, post Fani, which not only caused massive loss of life and property but also posed adverse long term affect on ecosystem and people's livelihood .

In continuance of its effort to rebuild Odisha, Aaina launch a plantation drive in Nimapada and Bramhagiri block in Puri in colllaboration and support from "Sambhav". We collaborated with the respective village committees to organise village wide plantation drive . The saplings, planted were:

1. Cashew nut

2. Drumstick

3. Mango

4. Arjuna

5. Neem

6. Kendu

7. Papaya

The objective of the pantation drive was to help the ecosytem recover and provide resource and livelihood to the netizens.

Links:

• http://aaina.org.in/

Summary

The Cyclone "Fani" has resulted in minimum casualties, but delay in access to essential services and destruction of personal assets and means of livelihood has made a huge dent in people's mind. The most discrete and yet the most severe victims are the children. The calamity has brought onto them, an unforgiving memories and distress, a psychological stress and fear. During our assessment, we have interacted with the children who narrated us a vivid flashback of their nightmares. Many of them suffer from Post traumatic stress. Delay in access to basic needs, including shelter, clean water and electricity in summer has just exaggerated their plight. 

Aaina is determined to intervene, not just through materialistic relive approach but with healing hands. We are conducting psychosocial therapy for these young minds, so that they could at least feel the presence of hope. We have started our approach with letting them release their stress through various vocal and physical activities and let them release their vivid memories in form of art.

Our Target

Our operation began in Raipur and Barakudi village in Puri district of Odisha, targeting 150 children to begin with

Our Approach

The Psychosocial Therapy/Counseling that we have adopted involves systematic reduction of their stress and their latent distress through a series of sequential vocal and physical activities. The reduction of their stress and their reluctance, which will lead them to a calmer mind and then we begin our next stage of operation, that is, to and let them release their vivid memories in form of art. We adopted various method of arts/Drawing that isn’t artistic but potent enough to make revelation about their state of mind.

Links:

• http://aaina.org.in/

Aaina responded with health camps in Bhubaneswar urban slums and  Nimapada block in collaboration with Americares India Foundation. So far, we have reached out to more than 700 familes and continuing. 

Aaina is also distributing Survival kits having food items like rice, dal, oil, flattened rice, sugar, biscuits etc, drinking water and water storage container, mat, bedsheets, mosquito nets, dignity and medicine kit etc. to affected families in Khurda and Puri districts in collaboration with Americares, WaterAid, Goonj and many more like minded organisations and willing donors.

We are determined to reach out to all affected and vulnerable families in the worst affected blocks in Puri district. Our efforts shall continue...

Links:

• Aaina website