Between the land and the sea - Notes from #ChennaiRains 10

1. Piyush Manush added 2 new photos. 

This 96 sq feet bamboo structure could easily house a family of four till they reconstruct thier homes and lives. A lot of improvisation would be done to the same and it would also be fitted with solar lights ..All this for only 4800/-

Make a difference to the lives of the people who have been rendered homeless .. Come join us at Gandhi Stadium. We at Salem Citizens Forum have announced Salem's effort to focus on Shelter building for the homeless and we are sure all will contribute ...

For contributions from abroad pls do use this account no -
Piyush Sethia,
Bank of Maharashtra,
S.B. Acc- 20111114356
IFSC Code- MAHB0000375..

banks are finding it difficult to handle funds for trust accounts. For local contributions please do send to -
Ac name & No - Mari Sthalam- Salem,: 915020020105876
Branch - Axis Bank -Ramakrishna Road
Ifsc code- UTIB 0000170

2. Piyush Manush added 2 new photos.

Bamboo Shelter update - We are modifying & tinkering with the earlier design.

1. Making sure that the shelter lasts for a decade by treating the whole bamboo.. the treatment is done by heating the bamboo with CSNL solution.

2. Implanting a iron pole so that the bamboo does not touch get immersed in soil.. pic 2 ..

3. Champaka suggests that a glass bottle lining around the shelter will ensure no scorpions, lizards or snakes enter the premises.

maximum in a weeks time we hope to despatch atleast 30 shelters a day depending on th e availability of labor. Pls suggest if any changes are to be made ..

3. Chennai Memes

‪#‎HERO‬
Volunteer Sharan

Help was posted for an aged couple (76,82 respectively) highly diabetic with a son affected by cancer and his child , who hadn't had anything for 2 full days. No water , No food , nothing. Their house had water until the first floor and they couldn't step out. The house went unnoticed during rescue operations and also the family had lost all connectivity since the phones were dead. Information was received through a fb post and somehow no one seemed to have been able to do much about it because of the lack of connectivity to the place. Water was 12 ft or more.
After a few hours ,a young man aged 24-25 , completely drenched was seen very efficiently trying to reach the place through ropes. He looked exhausted , but didn't give up. He managed to reach the house and the old couple was delighted to see someone come and give them food, after 2 entire days. He was shocked as to how the boy reached them, wherein even the boats or any trained sources couldn't reach. He thanked him and blessed him. On his way back from that house he noticed a lady with a small kid and enquired what happened . The lady was stranded all alone and was pleading to be shifted as the boats hadn't reached the place. The next moment the kid was on the boy's shoulders , carefully clinging on to this boy and the lady held the shoulders of the boy firmly , and they were on the other side of the scene in some time. After having done this , when the boy was getting some rest , the naval officer there got into conversation with him and got to know he was just a common man and this was the first time ever he did a rescue. Much to the astonishment of the officer. He was told that he has all capabilities to join the Air Force , army or naval force. When asked further , as to how he reached the place , this was known. He had travelled all the way from ECR, to Ashok Nagar. On the way , due to diversions he had to come through Vadapalani . While he was taking a turn , a brash car guy knocked him down. All the supplies he had bought for the family to be rescued was down the water. The supplies he bought were with the little money he had left as his salary hadn't been credited for the month. Nothing could be done , he had a family to be saved. He went ahead and reached a supplies place where he took in some bread and milk along with glucose for the family which was sinking because of their ailments. On reaching Ashok pillar , the water keel had come up to 8 ft and vehicles couldn't go. He parked his bike in a neighbouring road and started into the water . Wherein another rescuer Mr.Vincent introduced himself and they both were going in together. Finally they reached a place which was 5 -10 minutes from the destination . Vincent had to go and this boy was all alone not having a clue as to what had to be done. Courage , selflessness made him surpass the obstacles and he reached the family . The old man was the only person who was stable. The rest of them were sinking in hunger and low blood sugar levels. And once the supplies were given they regained consciousness. There was no media to cover this humongous effort but we salute that boy. Enquiring about him we got to know his name is Sharan. He has taken his life at stake to help the family . God bless him

4. Preethi Sukumaran 

Relief contributions - utilisation status (no hard numbers, just to give you a sense of what we have been doing - hard number update to be posted by Srinivas Krishnaswamy later this week.

Hello family and friends - you have contributed and have been contributing very generously, so here's a little update on some of the micro relief projects we have undertaken with the funds given.

1. Relief materials towards 100 displaced anglo indian families - the contribution for this will be done on saturday by Uday Shankar - we have bought / collected the following material for the women coming - nighties, blankets, plastic pais, some toiletries
2. Adolescent girls home (320 girls - 20 more children are expected tomorrow via childline which is why the count has increased from 300) - we have bought / collected the following - innerwear for the children, nighties, leggings and tees, soaps, shampoos, and other toiletries. Still collecting / buying plastic mats, mosquito nets, buckets and mugs and napkins. The contribution for this will be delivered by me or Srini directly.
3. TREE foundation - collecting on behalf of TREE foundation . They are supporting close to 1500 families, so we have a large collection list including clothing for the whole family, blankets, napkins, etc.We deliver relief ourselves to Tree foundation and coordinate with Neelu Dhungana .
4. Basin Bridge displaced colony - collecting for 150 children (from 15 day old infants to 3 year old children) - supplies needed include milk powder, diapers and warm clothing. Again relief contribution is being coordinated with on ground volunteer, and will be delivered by one of our friends. (so beware everyone on my friend list!)
5. ECR Kuppam - request for 150 families - need is for saris, inskirts, nighties, mens shirts, lungis, pais, anti fungal cream, mosquito coils and basic rations. Still don't know how we will be sending these.

Apart from the above, we are also getting relief requests from an NGO based in adyar, and one working in Chemenchery. Both require cooking utensils, so I plan to start a separate drive for this.

We are kind of ready with micro projects 1 and 2. We have barely started with 3. Still rattling the tins for 4 and 5.

And this is just us. We are doing a very tiny amount of relief work, and not even full time. Imagine the vast ocean that still needs to be covered.

So this post strated as an update, and by the end, I am back to my appeal.

Please open your hearts and wallets and contribute. Bhoomika trust is one option - I don't have details but you can do a Facebook search and my friend Koushik Udayashanker has also posted about them.. Bhargavii Mani is doing fantatsic relief work.And also seeks contributions.

So do we. So here is where you can send in funds.

Name : Preethi Sukumaran
Bank : State Bank of India, Besant Nagar Branch ( Chennai)
IFSC : SBIN0003274
Account # : 20175773856

Please do note that this is our personal bank account number & not that of an NGO - so you will not be getting a tax deductible receipt.

What you will get is accountability for your valuable contribution, details and updates of how the monies are spent, thank you notes on FB, a Jaadu Ki Jhappi when you visit Chennai ( if you don't find it creepy) and of course , free samples of awesome krya products.

Thanks a ton! smile emoticon