In early October, people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh faced the worst floods to hit this region in the past 100 years. Incessant rains and flooding of the Krishna and Tungabadhra rivers devastated the states, killing more than 200 people and displacing over 2 million people. Following three months’ drought, these extremes of climate dealt a huge blow to agriculture and food security. AID India and partner organizations are reaching remote and rural areas with immediate relief, support for restoring livelihood, and advocacy to access government services and relief packages. AID is also working with the government and with farmers to plan a more effective long term recovery.
Karnataka: Rescue and Rehabilitation
 Hulagunchi village, Raichur, KA: Their homes destroyed by the raging flood, the people of Hulagunchi village on the banks of Tungabhadra now live in makeshift tents on the road. Government aid has been slow to reach these remote villages. Photo Credit: Eddie Premdas |
Pothnal, Karnataka: Children of the Chilipili school were having dinner in the office of Jagrutha Mahila Sanghatan (JMS), a collective of dalit women agricultural laborers, when flood waters surrounded the building and gushed inside. With the help of the tractor that AID provided two years ago, the staff evacuated the office and saved the lives of 30 children. In Sidhanur and Manvi blocks, JMS and partners are providing food and shelter, and psycho-social support for the vulnerable. While the government’s focus has been around Raichur, JMS has reached out to remote villages like Jagirpannur that are bereft of political interest and media attention. To prevent spread of disease in flooded areas, JMS is working with local health officials to oversee appropriate sanitation work in the villages. AID has provided $22,250 to JMS towards flood relief and rehabilitation in Karnataka.
Relief & Soil Restoration in Andhra Pradesh
AID India and Nisarga are working with flood survivors in the worst affected parts of Kurnool district. From AID Hyderabad Suresh, Srihari and Kiran took relief supplies and surveyed several villages to identify urgent needs and assess the agricultural damage. In many farms, the topsoil was entirely washed away, rendering the farms unfit for agriculture. Government relief provides compensation for crop and soil loss but does not provide technical support to restore the fields.
Leveraging the knowledge on soil restoration gained through rehabilitation programs following the tsunami, cyclone Aila and Bihar floods, AID India is working with scientists from the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, and AID Saathi Revathy to begin activities for agriculture restoration in the flood-affected areas. If the villagers secure support for these activities through the National Rural Employment Guarantee, that would create jobs immediately and enable preparing the lands in time for the rabi season.
Guided by Nisarga, workers in Kurnool district are holding the government accountable and keeping vigilance to ensure that the official relief package of Rs 3000 for house damage, Rs 3000 per cow lost, and Rs 68,000 for building new houses, actually reaches the poor.
AID has provided $15,000 to AID-India and $4000 to Nisarga, for flood relief and rehabilitation efforts in Andhra Pradesh.
Karthik Ranganathan, an engineer, volunteers for AID in Dallas.
Touched by Bhopal
After a long and sleepless journey from Boston to Bhopal, I met Rafat and Sarita, two young girls who had recently campaigned in the US, as well as their families and friends who are all part of the campaign for justice in Bhopal. I listened to the very people who had walked all the way to Delhi, waited for months to talk with the Prime Minister, and then been arrested, and made a huge impact in the media. Amazed, I drank in their stories and hospitality, their ability to laugh with a sparkle in the eyes even when a loved one was bedridden from the gas disaster.
Seeing the dire poverty of these people, I felt bitter about the outside world. I am a part of the society that the people of Bhopal were fighting against. A girl like Rafat thrives against all odds, tending her home, attending school, fighting for the rights of her people, and writing whenever she finds some time - all of this with an everlasting bright smile, and eyes that can melt stones. She is dignified and assertive, and at the same time humble and empathetic towards everyone - even me.
As the sad yet bright faces of Rafat and her family got lost amidst so many others when the Bhopal-Howrah Express crawled out of the crowded station, I stood on the footholds of the train and cried my heart out – not just because I was leaving my new friends but also because I was being taken away from “their” world back into “mine” by a system that I could not control. To get over such helplessness, we must build a strong bridge between these two worlds, a bridge that stands on pillars of dignity and justice.
Tathagata Sengupta, a graduate student at Brandeis University, volunteers for AID in Boston.
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| Sambhavna Clinic, Bhopal, MP: The failure of the government’s health care system contributes largely to the medical disaster in Bhopal. Research into the long-term health effects of Union Carbide's gases has been long abandoned. So far no treatment protocols for symptom complexes associated with toxic exposure have been established. In the prevailing situation of despair, Sambhavna clinic provides integrated medical services to the survivors. The eco-friendly architecture of the clinic, maintaining pleasant temperature without the use of air-conditioning, is featured in MAKAAN, the 2010 calendar of the Association for India's Development. Order yours today! calendar.aidindia.org. Photo Credit: Colin Toogood
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Dump your Dow: Campaign for Bhopal
Supporters in the United States have planned a series of actions calling attention to the Bhopal Disaster and the issue of Corporate Accountability. Campus-based groups are asking universities about Dow funding to faculty, and research programs and urging students to see past Dow’s image of “human” concern to recognize their ugly record of violation and pollution.
Volunteers have pledged to “Dump your Dow,” calling on people to stop using Dow products, to sell Dow shares and demand that financial institutions, universities, and funds divest from Dow as well. Students for Bhopal and the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal have prepared pamphlets, armbands, apparel, editorials, and other campaign material. Visit www.studentsforbhopal.org for information about events and actions on December 3.
! ! A c t i o n A l e r t ! !
25 years after the Bhopal Gas Disaster, Bhopalis continue to wait for justice
December 3, 2009 will mark 25 years of the Bhopal gas disaster. Survivors are not only fighting for Union Carbide and it's owner Dow Chemical to be held liable for the negligent behavior that caused the release of tons of deadly gas, but also for the clean-up of toxic waste left behind that has continued to spread and poison their water. Dow Chemical and their subsidiary Union Carbide refuse to face the law in India. The survivors have called for global action to demand justice and have planned photo and art exhibitions, rallies, vigils, conferences with other pollution-impacted communities and other public programs at the factory site and throughout India. Parallel actions are being planned by Students for Bhopal in the US. Children Against Dow/Carbide have created an installation made of pots and pans corroded by contaminated water that people have no choice but to use, and will hold a press conference. What will you do to express your solidarity with the people of Bhopal?
Welcome our New Saathi, Pankti
Our new Saathi, Pankti Jog, hails from a rural village in the Sonal district of Goa. Her parents are paddy and banana farmers. Pankti completed her studies amidst various hardships, and graduated with a Masters degree from Goa University in 1999. She then joined the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa as a research fellow. But Pankti’s calling was elsewhere.
Pankti got associated with Janpath in December 2001, where she volunteered to work on post-earthquake rehabilitation in Kutch. Today, she is one of the key program leaders with Janpath. She serves as their Advocacy Coordinator as well as coordinator for the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP).
The MAGP is a people’s forum to enable good governance through the Right To Information (RTI) Act. In May 2006, MAGP launched the RTI helpline, the first of its kind in the country that enables quick intervention and guidance to any citizen throughout the state for making use of Right to Information. In March 2008, ‘RTI on Wheels’, India’s first mobile RTI clinic was launched. Recognizing the enormous potential of this venture to bring RTI to the masses, AID funded the alteration and redesign costs for the vehicle.
Pankti plans to continue working on awareness, education and training on RTI as a tool to address NREGA, Right to Food, Right to Shelter and Livelihood in the context of tribal, nomadic and de-notified tribes. AID has been actively engaged in enabling grassroots organizations working on RTI implementation. We are excited to have Pankti join us as a Saathi, and reaffirm our commitment to good governance through RTI.
Usha Padmanabhan is a Research Fellow in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and volunteers with AID-Duke/RTP.
Three Interns in Mumbai
Over the summer, three students from Brandeis University in Boston, Sriya Srikrishnan, Zohar Fuller and Juhi Chadha, went to India on an internship with AID. They spent a month with children of the Sangam Nagar slum of Mumbai, working with Experimental Theatre Foundation and Parivartan School. Sriya, Zohar and Juhi introduced theater as a medium of expression to the children by helping them create a play about their lives and dreams. Not only did it exceed all expectations, it empowered the children as well as the community.
Zohar: “I was rid of all familiarity and reflected upon my upbringing and my current life values. This was not a volunteer site equipped with AC, clean air, etc. When I arrived I was apprehensive that the conditions were unsanitary. Trekking across miles of trash and mud, breathing in awful fumes, and dodging goats was not comfortable, but I did not fly 17 hours, and experience intensive training workshops, to be comfortable. When we entered the class, the kids said ‘Namaste teacher!’ in excitement. I always felt appreciated.”
Sriya: “This was another side of my own city that I knew existed but had never experienced. We see these things [their adapted culture and lifestyle] as problems. They just see it as life… It wasn’t about how good the performance was or how many people saw it but about how these kids who were once shy to say their names out loud could now go out into the street and act out their dreams and lives.”
Juhi: “I had started to conform to the common Mumbaite mentality that the problems with the slums are inevitable. I started the program feeling numb and left feeling grounded and aware. The children lead a simple life- grinning while talking about domestic abuse and finding joy in the most mundane things like a pole in the middle of the class room. Having had the best education, I realize there’s still so much to learn from the kids!”
Zohar Fuller and Sriya Srikrishnan are students of Brandeis University in Boston. Juhi Chadha, a research analyst, is a Brandeis alumna.
Are you interested in volunteer work in India? To apply online for a placement in the AID Internship program, please visit aidindia.org or write to intern@aidindia.org describing your skills, interests, and availability.
I AM NO LAB RAT: Say No to BT Brinjal
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the regulatory authority for transgenic crops in India, has approved BT Brinjal for environmental release. This has come amidst widespread protests from citizens, NGOs, farmer organizations and some eminent scientists. On October 15, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests Shri Jairam Ramesh said a series of consultations will be held before making a decision.
BT brinjal is India's first genetically modified (GM) food crop and the world’s first GM brinjal. India is the home of the brinjal, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years without the help of fertilizers or pesticides. Targeted insect resistance offered by the GM crop comes bundled with negative health and environmental impacts. Today, government intervention is all that stands between BT brinjal and your dining table. To learn more and sign the petition, please visit http://www.iamnolabrat.com
Inspiring Youth: On the Ground and Online
A greater number of young people are taking the message of sustainable development and social justice and putting it into practice. In translating ideals to action, they are making a difference in the lives of the poor and marginalized, and also in their own lives.
On the road to Nagula Dinne, Karunool, A.P.: As the AID team stopped their truck in remote Nagula Dinne to distribute relief material, they ran into two youngsters on a motorcycle. On enquiry, AID Hyderabad volunteer Kiran learned that they had read about AID's relief efforts through online searches and planned to join the relief work. A wonderful example of how timely updates to our website helped connect people on the ground.
Neha’s Perseverance Pays Off
Neha, a high-school student in Tennessee, wanted to do something for the underprivileged in India. After browsing through AID’s website, she decided to raise funds for the Phulwari children's health and nutrition project of Jan Swasthya Sahyog (JSS) in Chhattisgarh. Preparing an impressive presentation over the summer with the help of reports shared by the supporting chapters, she raised more than $5000 towards the $16,000 budget AID has approved for 2009-2010 through community talks and awareness sessions. Moreover, she recruited several volunteers for the budding Mid-South chapter of AID by setting up a booth at the India Fest in August.
Neha Kumar, a high school student, volunteers for AID in Tennessee. For more information on the new Mid-South chapter, contact nehakumarmemphis@gmail.com
Ruhi: I Think of Money Differently Now
The first time I heard about AID was at Bindoo Auntie’s house in Raleigh, N.C. This fundraising effort for AID needed volunteers and seeing some teenage volunteers, I joined to make the group bigger! In our first event, we raised more than $800, well over our goal of $500, selling clothes, wall hangers, earrings, necklaces, anklets, and bracelets. Selling these items was a blast, with all my friends, and for a good reason.
Volunteering for AID made me think of money differently. I used to think of money in terms of spending and saving just for myself rather than donating. Now I want to donate money because some people need it more than I do. I also want to sell more items so I have more money to donate. That is what this experience taught me!
Ruhi Dholakia, a 5th grade student, volunteers for the Eureka Child Program with AID-Duke/RTP in North Carolina.
Recently Approved Projects
· Baikunthapur Tharun Sangha, West Bengal ($5349) - Farmers receive seeds and train in organic methods to resume farming on lands rendered saline by Cyclone Aila. Families also learn to grow home gardens that provide nutritious vegetables, fruits and spices year round.
· Samaj Parivartana Samudaya, Karnataka ($1894) - Small and marginal farmers challenge illegal iron mining in Bellary district, prosecute violators, and file for compensation for damages.
· AID India, Orissa ($1000) - AID Odisha and partners celebrate the centenary of Gandhiji's book, Hind Swaraj with distribution of 10,000 copies of the Oriya translation. The statewide peace campaign was initiated last year in the wake of communal violence in Kandhamal district.
