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Looking Ahead – Ideas for Tentative Plan of Action

Friday, June 19th, 2009

We have just received word that the Ramavaram folks will be shifted to the new place tomorrow morning at 10 AM. We have also heard that the new place is in Sriperumbuthur, which is quite far from the city, even further away than Porur. The new area could in fact be considered rural.

This of course brings up questions of how Sangam India will proceed in the face of such uncertainty. We feel that at this juncture, it is time for Sangam India to move forward in a new direction. Although there are a few things that we will continue with the current community, it is in fact not a feasible option for us to continue working with them in the same way that we have been doing until now. The following are the activities that we wish to continue with:

a) Clothing and Utensil distribution – Clothing has already been provided for these people, so we will be distributing these clothes after sorting them. We will be assisted by the Porur Sai Samithi in accomplishing this. Utensils and other items for the households will be determined in the next week, based on the need.

b) Health Education and Deworming – We would like to have a one day visit with the community during which we have a comprehensive health education program as well as deworm the entire community. During this we would like to cover topics of hygiene, family welfare, malnutrition, and men’s medicosocial issues. This will be accomplished with the help of Dr. Anita, Dr. Gayathri, and Dr. Arun.

c) Scholarships for children – We would like to set up a long-term program through which children can be given scholarships based on merit. We hope to set an incentive program as well through which children can be encouraged to study well, based on which they will receive some sort of benefit. This will have to be accomplished by periodic visits to the new settlement, perhaps every 6-8 weeks. Of course, this requires manpower and people who are willing to periodically travel to the new settlement, which is a significant distance away.

d) We would like to approach SEED, a local organization in Sriperumbuthur, to assist with microfinance options for this group. We are yet to approach them, so if anyone is interested in working on the liaison, please contact us.

e) We would like to conduct periodic health camps and screening camps in the new settlement, perhaps every 6 months or so.

As far as Sangam India as a whole, we will begin early next week with a search for a new community to work in. Do give us your suggestions. Please keep your eyes open for word of a general body meeting to be held soon, during which we will be establishing committees and discussing future plans.

As usual, all suggestions, comments and questions are welcome.

Posted by nivedita in perspectives | No Comments »

Meeting Reflections – Moving Forward, Thursday, 18th June, 2009

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Today’s meeting was called in order to discuss the next plan of action regarding Ramavaram as well as Sangam India itself. Several of our members have raised concerns regarding our ability to provide relief and support for these people without becoming a crutch and crippling their independence further. Upon some deliberation, we have decided that immediate food relief is not a necessity, since they do have money to provide for themselves and their families. Since our funds are also limited, it does not make sense for us to give something that can come from another source. More importantly, it is essential that these people understand their responsibilities and do not shirk them. Alcohol consumption and a total disregard for the welfare of their families is becoming more and more rampant among the men, and we need to be careful not to encourage that sort of behavior.

Having said all of that, we also need to focus on what it is that we CAN do for these people at this point – what is our area of expertise and what is that we can provide that they will not get elsewhere? We have decided that the two areas where we will currently focus are a)health care and health education and b) clothing distribution. We will also help them with a gift hamper containing some basics for their homes, but not immediately.

We are planning a visit tomorrow where we will de-worm everyone, since they are living in close quarters with absolutely no sanitary facilities, and we will check all the children for malnutrition. In addition, we will provide some basic health education regarding precautions they need to take while they are in this position. We do need doctors for this, so if you are interested, please let us know.

Food, clothing and shelter are the three basic human needs, and of the three only food has been taken care of. Clothing is not as urgent as originally perceived, but would certainly help them. More information on a clothing distribution this weekend will be provided soon. We have heard a couple of suggestions on providing a tent to protect the people from the elements, but we are not sure yet how that will be undertaken.

Finally, the most important concept that came out of the meeting was the importance of self-reliance and empowerment. If we continue to do all the work for them, the ultimate purpose of Sangam India’s existence is lost. It is important that we guide them towards empowering themselves and representing themselves in the face of difficulty. We have identified one man, Mr. Pitchaimani, who can represent his community well. The members of the community accept his leadership. We will be working with him on speaking to government officials as well as on teaching the people to avail themselves of everything that the government offers them.

Organizationally speaking, we have decided that in these matters, we do need to request the assistance of other NGO’s in the area who work in these fields and have more experience than us. It is important that we do not bite off more than we can chew, and that we go about achieving our goals in the right way. If you know of any local NGOs that can help us in this, please do let us know.

Lastly, things are starting to settle down regarding Ramavaram. We are planning to keep our disaster management team working on this, and early next week we will start working towards identifying a new slum to work in, based on the extent of their need. Suggestions on where we can look are welcome. To do this, we need to expand our volunteer base, so please help us spread the word, especially within Chennai.

As usual, any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, comments or questions are welcome.

nivedita.gunturi@sangamindia.org, sriram.ramgopal@sangamindia.org, or vasundhra@sangamindia.org.

Posted by nivedita in meetings | No Comments »

Food Relief at Ramavaram

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Today’s food distribution activity went smoothly, and we are all happy with the results. We would like to thank the local Maa Tarini (Bengali) Mess in Porur for providing us with 300 packets of curd rice on short notice. Thanks to the excellent leadership and administrative skills of our members, especially Pamela, Vandhana and Sivaprakash, today’s distribution was uneventful and organized.

Everyone was seated on the ground in lines, and we announced that until everyone was seated we would not start the distribution. This measure was instated to prevent chaos and unfair allocation. Everyone was polite and calm, which allowed us to get through the work quickly and efficiently.

Thanks to everyone who was there, especially those who are new to Sangam India – Lekha, Adya, Ashita, Usman, Prabhakaran, Fathima, and Divya. We have not yet decided on a plan of action for tomorrow, but we will update soon, as soon as a decision is made.

In other news, we are still waiting to hear updates on the government stance regarding these people. We are also still in the process of creating a list of items that each family will need. If anyone can help us develop this list and assign cost to each item so that we can work with our donors, please contact siva.paturi@gmail.com.

Thank you again for your continuing solidarity and support.

Posted by nivedita in events | No Comments »

Summary of Events and Actions in Ramavaram Thus Far, June 17th

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Written by Navyatha Mohan and Nivedita Gunturi,
two of our Board Members

Ramavaram is an urban slum just off of the Nandambakkam highway. There are 110 houses with approximately 400 residents at Ramavaram, most of whom are daily wage earners supporting women, infants, young children and the aged. Starting March 2008, a group of students and young professionals under the name Sangam India had taken up the initiative of helping the community earn back their dignity and quality of life. However, tragedy struck us early Monday morning when news arrived that the entire slum had caught fire and had been razed to the ground in a matter of hours.

At 1:30am on Monday 15th June, one of the houses close to the highway bridge caught on fire from a short circuit. The fire quickly raged through, consuming one house after another, abetted by thatched roofs and trees. The inhabitants hurriedly escaped their homes and gathered onto the street nearby. Luckily no one suffered any injuries. According to the inhabitants, the fire engine arrived at 3 am, but by then the whole slum and all their savings and belongings had been destroyed.

We heard of the shocking news at 9am and made an emergency visit to Ramavaram at 4pm. A group of about 25 of us visited them and listened to their devastating experience. There was nothing left of the slum but the mud walls that supported the houses a feet above the ground. The people seemed to be in a state of utter hopelessness, completely unsure of what was to happen to them and where they were to move next. As we talked to them we were able to gather some information about the government response. The Ward Counsellor had arrived early and distributed breakfast packets and water tanks for the entire slum population. The Panchayat House had made arrangements for lunch and dinner. The government had handed over Rs. 2000/-, 5 kg of rice, a kerosene coupon, and a saree and a lungi to each family of the slum.

The families were to assume temporary shelter at an auditorium nearby. Meanwhile, the government has promised to rebuild them a slum at Perungalathur, near Tambaram, some 25kms from Ramavaram and that was understood to take 3 days for completion. The inhabitants are unsure if any arrangement for meals has been made for the next few days. They do not have any clothes but the ones in which they escaped the fire. They have lost their money and the children have lost their school uniforms and books. All medical records and other documents have also been destroyed.

After assessing the situation at Ramavaram, we decided to act immediately to help the families. Some of us stayed back to listen and talk to the people offering our support, while some went out to buy basic necessities. We decided to buy and distribute to each family, a packet of Marie Gold Biscuits, a sheet, a bucket, toothpowder and soap. By 7pm we were able to buy the biscuits, sheets and place the order for buckets but we had to postpone distribution as it got too dark to carry on.

An emergency meeting was convened at 7:30pm where we shared the stories of the people and discussed their situation and immediate needs. Below is a summary of the meeting.

The situation:
No roofs above their heads, no clothes, no remaining savings.
Food and water for the day provided.
Food and water for next few days uncertain.
Slight drizzle early in the evening.

The people:
Low morale, vulnerable babies, poor hygiene and sanitation facilities.

The government response:
Rs.2000/-, a veshti and a lungi distributed to each family.
Food and water arrangements made for Day 1.
Temporary shelter – unviable
Rehabilitation – will take 3-4days, is 25kms away and quality of life uncertain.
Police patrolling present.

Our immediate Plan of Action:
Distribute the following items, 1 per family.
Day 1: Only morale and emotional support
Day 2: Marie Gold Biscuits
Bedsheet
Bucket
Toothpowder
Soap
Constitute a Disaster Management Team to plan and develop rehabilitation activities.
Constitute a Fund-raiser Team to undertake massive fund-raising over the next few days.
Boost the Public Relations Committee to help spread the word and garner help.

Immediate Future:
utensils and some other basic necessities like rice or oil. Needs will be assessed and decisions made.
Organize clothes drive – clothes for men, women and children.
Sponsor families.
Sponsor uniforms and books for the school-going children.
Provide moral support and be physically and emotionally present in their time of need.

How You Can Help
Sangam India boasts over 300 members worldwide, and right now is the time for those 300 members to come together to help our friends. Here are some ways you can immediately help:

  1. We need funds. If you are interested in sending money from outside India, please contact Sujan Pakala at sujan.pakala@gmail.com. He will be handling all donations. Within India, please contact Navya at nchundu@gmail.com. If you have any ideas for fundraising, please run those by Navya as well.
  2. We have clothing coming from the US on July 20, but in the meantime we need to run an emergency clothing drive so we can supply each family with at least one more set of clothes from what the government has given. They have not provided children’s clothes, leaving the children with only undergarments. If you are within India, please gather together usable clothes. You can contact Jaba at 91 9940661886.
  3. We need our legal team to be fully functional. For us to be able to help these families to the best of our ability, we need to increase our legal standing. We really need people to donate some time to this. If you are a lawyer, or know a lawyer, or are willing to help work through some paperwork, please contact Navyatha at navyatha.mohan@gmail.com.
  4. We need you to spread the word. Please tell everyone. Use every modality you have – Facebook, email, instant messenger, SMS, phone calls – to inform your friends of our needs. If you have any PR questions, please contact Priyanka at priyanka.boghani@sangamindia.org.

Posted by The Sangam India Team in administrative, aid, information | No Comments »

Pictures from Today’s Relief Work

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Here are some photos from today’s relief work at Ramavaram. As mentioned previously, we gave each of the residents a hot packet of curd rice for them to eat. A writeup will be posted later tonight.

Posted by sriram in photos, visits | No Comments »

Upcoming: Food Relief, June 17

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Also see: Fire at Ramavaram, Call for Help, Yesterday’s Response, and news articles (1, 2, 3).

We are continuing our efforts to aid the Ramavaram residents during this time of need. We have done our best to satisfy some of the immediate needs for the residents with our project yesterday. Items such as clothes, plates etc. will have to wait as these donations are still on their way as well.

Today, we are conducting a food service at the field adjacent to the slum to serve the residents. We are leaving at 4:45 and we hope to finish our work within an hour, before it gets dark. We will be serving each of the residents a packet of curd rice for them to eat tonight.

Thanks once again to all our volunteers and supporters and we’ll report back later tonight on the event.

Posted by sriram in events, upcoming | No Comments »

Relief Efforts at Ramavaram, June 16th

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Today we went to the Ramavaram area to assist the former slum residents there through what seems to be a difficult transition period.

We came with a large team of students and members of the community as well and everyone had a part to play in one of our largest operations ever. Our aim was to distribute each of the following to each household:

  • bedsheet
  • vessel for transporting water (kudam)
  • soap
  • toothpowder
  • a packet of ‘Marie Gold’ biscuits

Though we had some difficulty initially with setting up the project, once things got started, they proceeded smoothly. Towards the end of the project we had some difficulty as there was some commotion in the community, and some people tried to get the same items twice. Though we found these things frustrating, we understood that they were the result of the difficult circumstances that these people were living in. Our project work today was led by Pamela and Vasundhra, who did an excellent job of coordinating and leading the work. In addition, we had a doctor, Dr. Tripthi, come with us to see some cases and we were able to treat one child who seemed to be having a worm infestation. Dr. Tripthi also suggested mass deworming the entire population to prevent transmission of enteric worms and we might be able to do this in the near future.

As we were giving out the items, we collected data from each family, regarding the names, ages, and sex of each of the family members. This will help us to better plan to serve their needs in the future.

It was also discovered during our visit that food was not given to the community at all today by the State Government, as was promised. The people were required to fend for themselves. Each family had been given a compensatory Rs. 2000 to help them cope with their losses. When we spoke to the government official regarding this, he merely stated that no further food was going to be given as the families had been given this amount of money. Fortunately, the water tank was refilled so the residents did have water.

Worsening the situation is a large amount of drunkenness by many of the adults in the community. This disappointing, but not totally unsurprising turn of events further saps the limited amounts of money the families have and ruins an already dismal morale.

We hope that our visit to Ramavaram today would have given to these families some essential, requested provisions, and more than that, helped to boost the morale in a community that seems to be adrift.

Thanks again to everyone for their continued support, both in terms of funding and volunteering. Please read Nivedita’s post on how you can help if you are interested in contributing.

Also see: Fire at Ramavaram, Call for Help, and news articles (1, 2, 3).

Posted by sriram in visits | No Comments »

Times: "Many rendered homeless as fire destroys 100 huts"

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

The following was in the Times of India today (June 16, 2009,) on page 3.

Many rendered homeless as fire destroys 100 huts
Times News Network

Chennai: More than 100 huts in Nandambakkam were gutted after a fire broke out in one of them during the early hours on Monday. Residents tried to put out the blaze with water and sand, but the flames soon spread to other huts, eventually gutting 106 of them. There was no casualty, however, thanks to a timely alert.

According to the police, around 1.40am on Monday, the roof of one of the huts in MGR Nagar in Nandambakkam, below the bridge near the Chennai Trade Centre, caught fire. An autorickshaw driver passing by noticed it and alerted residents, who informed the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) department around 1.55 am.

The first fire engine reached the spot around 2.45am. By then many huts were destroyed. Five water lorries, five Metrowater lorries and two water tankers were pressed into service. By about 4am, the fire was extinguished.

“The first house to catch fire was locked. A short circuit was the cause. Most of the families here are from Vathalagundu, near Madurai,” said a police officer.

Kancheepuram collector Santosh K Misra and labour minister T M Anbarasan visited the spot at 11am. They distributed relief material, which included five kilograms of rice, clothes and Rs 5,000 in cash.

The residents whose houses were gutted will be shifted to Perungalathur, a place near Tambaram.

“We have been living here for the past 25 years and never before has a fire occurred. We are mostly labourers and now we have lost whatever little property we had saved,” said Muthulakshmi, a resident.

“If they shift us to Perungalathur, our children will find it hard to come to school,” said Ezhumalai, another resident.

Note: According to our information from both the residents and the government, each household was given Rs 2000 in cash.

We need your help! Please see the post below.

Posted by The Sangam India Team in news | No Comments »

Trip to Ramavaram Today

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Please see: Fire at Ramavaram, Call for Help, and news articles (1, 2).

As we described in the previous posts, we’re heading out to Ramavaram today to give necessary articles to the Ramavaram residents to help them cope with their losses yesterday.

Current plans are to give the following to each household:

  • A bedsheet
  • A packet of Marie Gold biscuits
  • A vessel for carrying water
  • Soap
  • Toothpowder

Items such as clothes, etc. might take a few more days to come. Please see the call for help post below if you can help in any way.

Today’s trip leaves at 4:15 and we hope to get started as soon as we can. You can contact the Sangam India phone line if you need help with directions, etc: 9789901650. Please call the corresponding phone numbers below if you have any aid to offer.

Posted by sriram in aid, events | No Comments »

Immediately Moving Forward – How you can help today.

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Our community in Ramavaram suffered a great tragedy yesterday. We have been receiving many phone calls and emails offering support and assistance in whatever way we can use it.

As a leader of Sangam India, my call to you is to help us keep our activities and our planning and development side going. It is important that while giving as much as we can give to rebuilding this community, we do not let this circumstance sidetrack us from continuing our work, which will empower us to best help the Ramavaram community. For this to happen, we all need to come together.

Sangam India boasts over 300 members worldwide, and right now is the time for those 300 members to come together to help our friends. Here are some ways you can immediately help:

  1. We need funds. If you are interested in sending money from outside India, please contact Sujan Pakala at sujan.pakala@gmail.com. He will be handling all donations. Within India, please contact Navya at nchundu@gmail.com. If you have any ideas for fundraising, please run those by Navya as well.
  2. We have clothing coming from the US on July 20, but in the meantime we need to run an emergency clothing drive so we can supply each family with at least one more set of clothes from what the government has given. They have not provided children’s clothes, leaving the children with only undergarments. If you are within India, please gather together usable clothes. You can contact Jaba at 91 9940661886.
  3. We need our legal team to be fully functional. For us to be able to help these families to the best of our ability, we need to increase our legal standing. We really need people to donate some time to this. If you are a lawyer, or know a lawyer, or are willing to help work through some paperwork, please contact Navyatha at navyatha.mohan@gmail.com.
  4. We need you to spread the word. Please tell everyone. Use every modality you have – Facebook, email, instant messenger, SMS, phone calls – to inform your friends of our needs. If you have any PR questions, please contact Priyanka at priyanka.boghani@sangamindia.org.

As we find out more about the needs, we will be posting updates. Please keep a close watch on the blog for more information coming soon, most likely in the next 6 hours.

Thank you for your solidarity in our time of need.

Posted by nivedita in donations, recruitment | No Comments »

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