Amazing news from Save the Children! Their cyclone Phailin relief project on GlobalGiving has been fully funded! This is a direct result of funds raised on this GlobalGiving fund! We would like to thank you for your dedication to this amazing effort! Though their project may be funded the struggle to recover is never over! Our other partner benefitting from this fund is International Medical Corps and their recovery project is still in full swing. In their latest report they discuss their movement towards long-term solutions.
In November 2013 International Medical Corps switched their focus to building community resilience through creating clean water infrastructure. Their goal is to create a system for affected communities where future harm caused by cyclones (or any disasters) will be greatly mitigated. In doing so they hope to create a community of first responders. They have implemented a few strategies for doing so, including local trainings on disease prevention, and improved clean water infrastructure.
In January of this year IMC implemented an awareness campaign across affected communities and in ten schools! They encouraged good hygiene practices and provided some clean water suggestions. At the same time of this campaign IMC was also handing out hygiene kits that included water purification tabs, shampoo, soap, other basic necessities and jerry cans to store clean water. These concurrent programs emphasize the importance of good health practices immediately following a disaster, after all disease is the number one cause of death following disasters.
After the rains subsided there was the obvious problem of flooding to deal with. International Medical Corps has approached this huge problem too! The flooding fully submerged handpumps in rural areas. This caused floodwaters, which harbor cholera and other water-born illnesses, to mix with groundwater contaminating the drinking supply. IMC identified eight contaminated wells. They responded by building elevated platforms for the pumping stations to eliminate the issue of flooding. But they did not stop there, get ready for the most impressive part! International Medical Corps also constructed extra bathing cubicles attached to the platforms, these are intended to provide women and girls with a safe, hygienic, and private bathing area. This extra step is not only saving lives, but also empowering a generation and a gender to unleash their boundless potential.
International Medical Corps and Save the Children Foundation are both amazing organizations which directly benefited from this GlobalGiving fund and from your amazing donations! But those that matter most are the people whose lives you are saving. Rural India triumphantly rose above this disaster and it was because of not only the individuals in the community for being so resilient but also thanks to your pure generosity and care. Thank you from GlobalGiving and especially thank you from those so deeply impacted by this crisis!
In October 2013, Cyclone Phailin was the second-strongest storm ever to hit India. Cyclone Phailin took the lives of 45 people and displaced 1.1 million, while also destroying 230,000 homes. Natural disasters are an unfortunate and uncontrollable part of life, but it is with your generosity that we are alleviating the suffering that they cause. Thanks to GlobalGiving donors we have been able to raise almost $10,000! We provide this money directly to our partners Save the Children and International Medical Corps. In the time since the disaster, relief work has been focused on providing clean water, preventing malnutrition, and fighting disease.
Here is just a brief part of what our great partners are doing:
The Indian state Odisha was in the direct path of Phailin and the most heavily damaged.
In the small village K Badapur getting clean water before the storm was a hassle, after it is nearly impossible. The villagers take a two-mile walk to their neighboring village 2-3 times a day just to get the few gallons of water they need a day to survive. The village head, Basu Das, 50, lost his home and cropland due to the devastating 125 mph winds and flooding. Thankfully, he, his wife, and two sons remain unharmed but are still displaced in a community center with other families in the same position. Save the Children distributed essential supplies to Basu Das’s family and thousands more children and families affected by Cyclone Phailin. Hygiene items, household supplies and food baskets have been distributed to stave off malnutrition and disease.
Because of the funds raised through GlobalGiving, Save the Children will provide 100 disaster relief kits to children in need!
International Medical Corps was among the first responders after Phailin, with field workers in the affected areas within 24 hours. In partnership with the Chief District Medical Officers and local health authorities, International Medical Corps’ Emergency Response Team deployed mobile medical units to more than 38 villages marooned by the cyclone in Balasore and Mayurbhanj and provided more than 10,500 critically-needed primary healthcare consultations. International Medical Corps also distributed hygiene kits that included sanitary items, such as soap, laundry detergent, mosquito nets and water containers, in local communities to prevent the spread of communicable disease. Currently International Medical Corps, and its local partner Unnayan, are focusing on reducing future disaster risks by fixing destroyed water sources, constructing hygiene facilities, and stockpiling hygiene supplies and hygiene education.
The impact you have already made on many lives is huge, but their are still hundreds displaced, living in unhealthy conditions with little drinkable water. Your amazing support helps alleviate hardships caused by such an unpreventable disaster. Thank you, GlobalGivers for your continued support!
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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When a disaster strikes, recovery efforts led by people who live and work in affected communities are often overlooked and underfunded. GlobalGiving is changing this reality. Since 2004, we've been shifting decision-making power to crises-affected communities through trust-based grantmaking and support.
We make it easy, quick, and safe to support people on the ground who understand needs in their communities better than anyone else.
They were there long before the news cameras arrived, and they’ll be there long after the cameras leave. They know how to make their communities more resilient to future disasters, and they’re already hard at work. GlobalGiving puts donations and grants directly into their hands. Because the status quo—which gives the vast majority of funding to a few large organizations—doesn’t make sense.
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