Dear Friends on Blogosphere.....
I am writing to see if any of us would be interested in helping the victims of AILA, the cyclone that maimed a large part of the Sunderbans in West Bengal.
Who are we?
We are a group of like minded people who have taken up the task to make a meaningful difference to the lives of the struggling inhabitants of the Sunderbans. We are not a formal organisation. We are driven by a need to provide whatever relief that we can to the soil of the land that made us into what we are today.
What have we already done?
As we all know, the Cyclone did not kill as much as it maimed. People are dying a slower death because they live on little islands accessible only by boats which are the lifeline to the area.
We started this initiative to supply them Rice, Dal and other necessities from the village of Baghbagan, under the Gosaba Block of the Rangabelia panchayat in South 24 Parganas. Now, we have stepped up our efforts to provide relief to Lahiripur, an island of about 30 villages which is the furthest away cluster of life in the Sunderbans. If you go beyond Lahiripur, you will enter the very dense mangrove forests eventually leading up to the ocean. Lahiripur is in a condition that is not easy to describe in words.
The soil in these villages has become unsuitable for any kind of farming for a minimum of next two years due to the saline water coming into the villages (see picture attached). The helplessness of the villagers is such that they have no qualms in waiting in line for hours at end for the 1 kg of rice that they expect to get from the relief material we bring. The only thing on their minds is how to get past TODAY. They are in no mental condition to think of even a week from now.
According to several villagers I spoke to, the government aid has been woefully short and it is personal contributions from people like you and the NGOs that has kept them alive, literally.
After having visited Lahiripur many times now, here are some points that come to my mind:
- This unbranded group of people (us) is the LARGEST contributor in this area. The government is doing very little. You can well imagine the extent of help they are getting
- Even if they have money to buy 1 kg of rice (Rs. 15), they have to walk at least 2-3 kms in knee deep slush to procure it. It becomes virtually impossible to carry anything heavier than 10 kgs by a single person.
- Their total NET WORTH in many cases is less than Rs. 150- the price of a mosquito net they need. The mosquitoes have multiplied in the villages because of the salinity. Hence, their immediate need for mosquito nets is very acute.
- There are about 4000 families in the Lahiripur area and according to our estimates; we are catering, albeit in a small manner to 3000 plus families. We want to reach the balance 1000 families next week.
We have made 8 trips and supplied almost Rs. 7, 50,000 worth of relief material. I would like to thank the very generous donors kept this initiative going.
Below is a tabular representation of the relief material we have distributed in our last four visits.
| Rice | Dal | Plastic Sheets | Salt | Milk | Mats | Oil | Mosquito Nets (pcs) | Lanterns | |
| June 21st | 2700 | 300 | 80 | 120 | | ||||
| July 5th | 5500 | 300 | 500 | 240 | 9 | | |||
| July 12th | 7000 | 1000 | 100 | | |||||
| July 19th | 7100 | 300 | 150 | | 250 | ||||
| July 26th | 6000 | 500 | |||||||
| 22300 | 1600 | 80 | 900 | 150 | 360 | 9 | 500 | 250 |
What do we want to do in the future?
We intend to provide the essentials to villagers of Lahiripur for the next 3-4 months (or till the time resources permit). The Tiger Project Department has agreed to allow us the usage of their launch for regular distribution. The Tiger Project people have been extremely helpful and have ensured that they take us to the villages that need the food supply the most.
We hope to make visits every week. Given the magnitude of the need in Lahiripur, we will take in excess of 7000 kgs of rice and other essentials with us each week.
How can you help?
- Contribute in Cash or Kind
- Reach out to people that might be able to help
- Reach out to organizations that want to donate. We can be their hands and eyes.
It is critical that we expand our base of donors to be able to sustain this initiative longer....
Regards,
Aakash Shah
+91 98318 04001
