Relief Services : A Brief Report as on 1 June 2022

Devastating floods triggered by continual heavy rainfall affected a large portion of Assam in May. The calamity claimed many lives and rendered lakhs of people homeless.  In the wake of the disaster, two of our centres conducted relief operations. Details are as follows:

Karimganj centre served 2200 plates of food and distributed 540 kg pulses, 280 kg soya chunks, 1298 kg potatoes, 544 kg onions, 270 litres cooking oil, 550 kg salt, 112 kg milk powder and 1060 packets of biscuits among 542 families in Karimganj district from 20 to 23 May.

Silchar centre distributed 1350 kg wheat flour, 675 kg pulses, 3375 kg potatoes, 169 kg soya chunks, 68 kg turmeric powder, 338 kg salt, 338 litres cooking oil and 675 bars of soap among 675 families in Cachar district on 23 May. The centre also provided medical treatment to 1121 people sheltered in different relief camps in Silchar city.

In response to the severe floods in KwaZulu-Natal province of the country in April, our centres in South Africa carried on relief operations, the details of which are given below:

Durban centre served meals to 140 people and distributed 700 kg rice, 590 kg mealie meal, 250 kg flour, 70 kg pulses, 40 kg assorted vegetables, 50 kg pasta, 50 kg porridge, 138 litres cooking oil, 100 kg salt, 290 kg sugar, 390 canned beans, 5 bottles of peanut butter, 6 litres milk, 15,000 tea bags, 40 loaves of bread, 200 litres drinking water, 100 paper plates, 40 bars of laundry soap, 3 kg washing powder, 40 sanitary pads, 3 litres disinfectant, 100 refuse bags and 300 candles among 200 families in Chatsworth and Ladysmith in May.

Phoenix centre distributed 2600 kg rice, 520 kg maize meal, 200 kg cereals, 2410 kg pulses, 100 kg soya chunks, 3885 kg assorted vegetables, 120 kg assorted spices, 555 kg salt, 825 litres cooking oil, 738 cans of tinned food, 50 kg soup powder, 8946 breakfast cereal sachets, 1478 packets of biscuits, 152 cakes, 40,500 tea bags, 338 litres milk, 560 kg sugar, 4 kg milk powder, 111 kg pasta, 140 kg porridge, 1300 loaves of bread, 70 litres fruit juice, 1500 litres drinking water, 24 kg assorted fruits, 400 matchboxes, 200 bars of washing soap, 400 bars of bathing soap, 200 tubes of toothpaste, 720 adult napkins, 310 assorted garments and 200 blankets among 320 families in May.

In the vaccination centre run by Mumbai Corporation at Mumbai centre, 1625 doses were administered between 25 April and 24 May.

Durban centre, along with its sub-centres, served 2815 plates of food and distributed 595 kg rice, 138 kg flour, 253 kg mealie meal, 138 kg pulses, 138 kg sugar beans, 770 canned beans, 195 kg porridge, 115 kg samp, 3 kg pasta, 164 litres cooking oil, 155 kg salt,  1055 loaves of bread, 115 cans of jam, 115 bottles of peanut butter, 500 litres drinking water, 38 litres fruit juice, 18,580 tea bags, 250 kg sugar, 60 packets of biscuits, 160 packets of soup, 240 matchboxes, 45 tubes of toothpaste, 195 bars of laundry soap, 245 bars of toilet soap, 60 blankets, 60 saris and 60 shopping bags among 320 families in various parts of South Africa in May.  Also, the centre distributed 780 kg assorted vegetables among needy people in Pietermaritzburg in May.

A fire burned down a house in Kotalipara of Gopalganj district on 17 April.  Bagerhat centre provided 125 kg rice, 15 kg pulses, 45 kg potatoes, 15 litres cooking oil, 25 kg salt, 1 kg assorted spices, 2 lungis, 2 saris and 2 blankets to the affected family on 21 April.

Kanpur centre distributed 600 glasses of sharbat (a sweet drink) to thirsty passers-by on 22 May.

The following centres distributed the items shown against their names to needy people:

Ahmedabad: 125 food packets, 375 kg wheat flour, 250 kg pulses, 125 litres cooking oil, 125 kg salt, 75 kg assorted spices, 125 kg sugar, 13 kg tea powder, 125 kg jaggery and 125 towels on 1 May.

Almora: 225 kg pulses, 15 kg soya chunks, 30 litres cooking oil, 15 kg salt, 11 kg assorted spices, 15 kg sugar, 15 sets of utensils (each set containing a plate, a glass and a bowl), 15 pants, 15 shirts, 15 saris and 15 blankets on 17 May.

Bankura: 125 kg rice, 60 kg pulses, 25 kg soya chunks, 100 kg potatoes, 25 litres cooking oil, 25 kg salt, 3 kg turmeric powder, 16 packets of biscuits, 25 towels and 22 tarpaulins on 14 May.

Darjeeling: 840 kg rice, 60 kg semolina, 240 kg pulses, 120 kg soya chunks, 120 litres cooking oil, 30 kg assorted spices, 6 kg tamarind, 120 kg salt, 48 kg pickles, 120 kg sugar, 928 bottles of honey, 48 bottles of a herbal mixture, 652 kg glucose, 1319 litres assorted flavoured drinks, 15 tubes of toothpaste, 408 bottles of hair oil, 120 bars of bathing soap, 120 bars of washing soap and 120 bars of dishwashing soap from 12 March to 30 April.

Deoghar: 500 kg rice, 100 kg pulses, 200 kg potatoes, 100 kg salt, 100 litres cooking oil, 100 sets of utensils (each set containing a plate, a bowl and a glass), 100 bottles of hair oil, 30 dhotis and 70 saris on 16 May.

Hatamuniguda: 30 lungis, 27 saris, 33 vests, 21 trousers, 9 shirts, 14 assorted ladies’ garments, 30 bed sheets, 30 towels and 30 bottles of honey on 1 May.

Jayrambati: 200 kg pulses, 100 litres cooking oil, 30 kg assorted spices, 100 bottles of hair oil, 100 bars of bathing soap, 100 bars of washing soap, 100 kg detergent powder, 100 saris, 100 towels and 100 face masks on 20 May.

Sikra-Kulingram: 340 kg Horlicks, 17 kg sattu (roasted gram flour), 526 packets of biscuits, 263 milk powder, 1834 notebooks, 50 geometry boxes, 153 dictionaries, 549 scales, 549 pens, 434 litres phenyl and 434 kg bleaching powder from 20 March to 1 May.

Vrindaban: 430 kg rice, 430 kg wheat flour, 108 kg pulses, 108 litres cooking oil, 108 kg salt, 108 kg sugar, 22 kg tea powder, 43 kg milk powder, 215 bananas and 215 bars of bathing soap on 3 May.

Narayanganj: 200 kg puffed rice (muri), 20 kg sugar cake, 150 bottles of water, 50 school bags and medicines on 9 April and 1 May.

Several houses were damaged due to heavy rains in some parts of Uttarakhand in October 2021. Almora centre built 15 houses for the affected families in Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar and Bageshwar districts from November to May.  Construction of a few more houses is in progress.

Chennai Students’ Home distributed 34 sewing machines and 34 sewing kits (each kit containing 15 spools of assorted coloured threads, 5 needles, 3 bobbins and scissors) to as many needy women in Chennai district on 25 April to help them earn their livelihood.