PAKT assistance to "Ma Sarada Shishu Tirtha" - an underprivileged girls' school at Krishnanagar

We came to know of Ma Sarada Shishu Tirtha (MSST) through a PAKT companion.
We made a visit to this school which gets support from Spanish NGO (El Hogar De Las Ninas) as well as another Kolkata based NGO, Abheda Foundation.

Out of the pressing issues seen in the school,  two specific issues (repairing of toilet doors, as well as purchase of primary school books etc at start of session) were deemed most suitable to be taken up by PAKT. Following an authenticity verification visit to MSST, PAKT contribution towards these two expenses was agreed with members. 
The disbursement has been made to MSST. In a subsequent visit the toilet door fitting activity has been confirmed, along with MSST acknowledgement of admission / new books support for new classes.

With this activity, all funds related to HSI (Help Sunderbans Initiative) stand disbursed. These funds were collected for HSI relief and rehabilitation activity triggered by cyclone Aila (May'09) wreaking havoc amongst large swathes of population dwelling in the Sunderbans.

Pix of follow-up visit uploaded in link: https://picasaweb.google.com/115644634360398428782/1305_MaSaradaShishuTirtha_visit?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPKD5p-bgcCpDg&feat=directlink

Pic of repaired toiler doors: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-int8jZdKnG8/UZKSp9lE9vI/AAAAAAAADCk/A0ESLKvhhho/s128/140520133326-001.jpg

Some other links related to MA Sarada Shishu Tirtha:

a) brief write-up on Ma Sarada Shishu Tirtha: http://share.pdfonline.com/d35e54806fbe46f29543a2746750f1ec/Ma%20Sarada%20Shishu%20Tirtha%20-%20writeup%20for%20Rotary.htm
b) online video of Ma Sarada children putting up a dance program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahC0DCdpXxE

Still a Lot is Needed

Many times we repeated in our blogs that certain constructive initiatives by the administration could have made things lot easier. The basic two initatives we urged several times are:
i) Pumping out saline water from the low lying agricultural lands
ii) Disbursement of the government approved amount for the reconstruction of the destroyed houses.
The same view is echoed by a newspaper report, Aila survivors stare at winter without relief in The Telegraph.
The report is based on an area other than Chargheri, in the Sunderbans, but this is a general picture. This is exactly why we had to take up the agricultural training program in Chargheri in a more elaborate way than initially planned. Only aim is to show the villagers a ray of hope that some agriculture is possible here – they can find some livelihood.
But a lot more is to be done to bring them back to their normal agriculture based life.
Any advise, assitance and direct participation will be a big help for us.

It is all happening because of you

We joined a group of relief providers and set off for an unknown destination deep within the Sunderbans in end June, over a month after Aila struck the area and paralysed life for numerous villages and communities in the Sunderbans. We contributed some money towards the cause, and wanted to be caring enough to ensure that the foodstuff reaches the people that need it. But we were then thinking of a one-time support.

It all changed when we reached the destination where these villagers lived. We saw the condition of Chargheri & other southern villages of Satjelia. Each of the then-unformed PAKT group showed vocal / silent support to continuing the effort to supply basic food assistance to these severely affected people. To give them something to fill their bellies after their livelihood was put on hold for 2 years, and ALSO to show them a ray of hope, "to reassure them that not everyone beyond that floating horizon of the tidal waters has forgotten about them" (as we put it in our first blogpost).

We went to you with an extended plan to support these people for next few months with food relief. The basic plan was to pick up a social unit of people and supply them with bare minimal nutrition for the next months, at least till Sep'09. All of us subsequently speculated on the specific locations to lend our services to, and agreed that the devastated families of Chargheri & other four villlages (Santigachhi, Bidhan Colony, Lahiripur, Porosmoni) were as much deserving of assistance as people of other Aila-devastated areas in the Sunderbans. Then we discussed the number of people we had to support as a social unit and the quantity of rice per head that we could supply on an extended basis (was it too less to have any meaning?). We formed PAKT and re-visited the original speculative head count and rice quantity against the funds that we practically expected from within the group (PAKT) and their well-wishers - all of you - based on personal commitments and responses.

When we found that the funds were falling short of the target, we re-appealed to all of you and you responded by further replenishing PAKT funds so that commitment to supply food till Sep '09 could be met. We also asked you to join us and help us serve these people, and again got positive responses from you.

We needed to make our distribution system robust and organised, eliminating chances of deserving candidates losing out to strongmen who nudge the weaker folk out of the queue to grab more relief. Purbasha, a local eco-tourism group, offered some manpower assitance during our visits and also helped us collect local information. Thanks to Kaustuv's planning (and insistence) we implemented an extremely successful, uniquely numbered card based system for the families we identified as being 'covered' by PAKT.

Subsequently when we found that these people were going to have to fend for themselves after September, we went to them and asked them what they felt is the way forward. We did not think continuing with relief or extending it beyond September '09 as the right way forward. Fortunately, that was also the feedback we got from a lot of the locals. They wanted to start doing something for themselves.

We tried to build on that good spirit and willingness shown by the local people towards rehabilitating themselves. We found support from two NGO's, PRISM and Swanirvar, in arranging for the most effective self-rehabilitation that we think is possible for a multitude of farmers struggling with salined lands. After some preliminary background work, PAKT have arranged to train the local farmers in a manner so that they can grow their own vegetables come this winter. That will help these farming families to sustain themselves as well as to certainly reduce their expenses on expensive vegetables bought from market. The farmers will also have to take additional responsibilities and share their newly gained alternative crop related knowledge with other farmers in their villages who could not be accomodated in the external training.

We have also placed 4 needy local people at some hotels around West Bengal for jobs. More jobs are possible if more locals show their willlingness to move out.

The people of Chargheri and the other 4 villages still need to be supported before we can stand back and say that "they are rehabilitating themselves". The crop training (3rd phase) for another 25 odd farmers begins tomorrow. We then plan to distribute relevant seeds to ALL farmers (farmers with formal training as also farmers getting "second hand" training from formally trained farmers) before mid October so that the vegetable crop can be sown at the right time.

We are trying to look for more self employment options for these people in the field of cottage industry products. Exploring training of locals (especialy women) in those directions is certainly not far from our minds but choosing the right local skill is of paramount importance for making the products saleable in the market.

We plan to distribute blankets for these families ahead of the winter.

Tomorrow (19th Sep '09) is going to be our 8th trip to the location where PAKT have been distributing rice at Sunderbans since end of June '09. This is planned to be the last visit where PAKT provide food materials to the local people. We have been declaring this intended closure of relief on 19-Sep-09 over the past 3 visits to the recipients so that it does not come as a shock to them. We have also seen enough enthusiasm amongst locals with the alternative crop training program to believe that they (the local farmer community) see a lifeline in it, that they are willing to cultivate their new techniques on whatever land they can find untouched by stagnated brackish water. The relief had to come to an end, and they are accepting it as a reality at the right time.

While PAKT will continue visiting the area for other rehabilitation efforts mentioned above, the food relief part of Help Suderbans Initiative ends tomorrow. When we distribute rice for the last time at Chargheri in about 13-14 hours from now, we hope to get a further confirmation that the people in general are taking this closure without bitterness, and that they are already looking beyond waiting at queues with cards in hand to witness sacks of rice being stacked under a PAKT banner every fortnight. This sustenance of hope at the end of relief phase is what these people will desperately need to keep themselves afloat in their coming 12-15 months of struggle. Relief will now have to be replaced by self-belief, for which PAKT has been trying to arm them with knowledge to tackle their present state.

We needed a lot of funds to pull off the food relief phase. All of this has happened because of YOU. No words are apt enough to express our gratitude...or its magnitude, nor do we feel any pressing need of that being qualified or quantified. It is festival season here in West Bengal, and may your support / blessings / assistance / prayers / words of encouragement / love be as much with us as with the people we are all committed to continue supporting on their path to rehabilitating themselves.

PS: We may still come back to you for some more help for support of the rehabilitation process. We expect to have proved worthy of your trust so far, and hence we will not hesitate to ask for your (further) help if and when it is needed.

Some videos of introductory session of 1st crop training program

We had a brief discussion with the trainers in the car on our way to Sonakhali:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-n9xsnVAmE

The following videos were shot during the interaction between trainers and the local farmers in the introductory session of the 1st 3-day crop training program. The program was held in Chargheri Abaitanik PRathomik Bidyalaya, a local primary school.

Inside the Primary school :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE8sTofjC50

The trainers say a few lines about themselves, and the purpose of their visit. They flag off the session in traditional fashion by singing a few lines from a local song glorifying the Sundari tree, one of the specialities of the Sunderbans [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evU00sURlKM

The trainers are made aware that farmers from 5 villages will be participating in the program [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PjH3JSHVe4

Farmers of each of the 5 villages can possibly have independent problems. Trainers propose that it may be worthwhile if they (trainers) concentrate on one vilage on each day of training. (This was not required, as all farmers later confirmed that the problems were similar across all villages.) The attentive farmers are told about shifting focus from rice (their principal produce from these fields) to other vegetables for the coming winter [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npPSs9D1PRU

Trainers touch upon the important part about farmers beginning alternative crop production at backyards and plinths of their damaged houses. Even salinity resistant crops can grow only after land is freed from saline water. This is a key factor in this area, as the salined farmlands cannot be drained (our survey reports support that). The plinths are higher, and hence present more chance to produce these vegetables.
The trainers bounce off some ideas as to which varieties of vegetables can be taken up in these conditions. The farmers are told about some techniques to free the salined fertiliser stocks from salinity.

Some trainees were thinking aloud that some options will require resources beyond their present affordability. PAKT requested them to leave that worry aside for time being and pick up all feasible options from the ongoing program. Subsequently these will be assessed and resource requirements will be discussed and supported by PAKT to the best of their ability. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq8pSXivEh0

Trainers suggest pumping out water from ponds to 'harvest' rain water for the alternative crop. In further discussions though the farmers say this would be useless. The drainage system in this island is abysmal. Drained out water refuses to go anywhere and overflow from salined canals would flow back into the ponds and farmlands. In other words, elevated reservoirs would be needed for rain water harvesting. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D9ok15O0_E

Trainers look to instill confidence in farmers that the options that they will explore with the farmers are not experimental ones. All of those have already been tried and found to be productive at areas similar to theirs. When they hear the names of areas where these techniques have been implemented, all farmer express agreement that the nature of their farmlands and soil is also similar to those. One senior farmer adds that amidst post-Aila despair they are seeing hope that some people are at least trying to support them in whatever way possible. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LaVNMk0Pu8

The trainers explain to the farmers that over the next one year, the thrust will be on surviving through to the next agricultural season. Hence they need to grow specific vegetables which can provide their family a diet and thus cut back on expenses towards buying food from market. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygAS1zXzIC4

Trainers briefly touch upon some techniques to grow alternative crop. In this video they explain how rain water harvesting can be done right at thelocation where the seeds of alternative will be sowed, so that the crop gets rain water during growth. Local mounding at crop location also helps non-accumulation of salinity at the elevated point where crop is sown. Expectedly these will be discussed interactively during the next 2 days [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvYh9gDc7Wk

The canals for rain water harvesting serve as 'reservoirs' in other seasons. Now they are filled with saline water, and these are flowing into the fields to spoil the fresh water from rains. [i.e. unless saline water from these canals are emptied they will keep despatching saline water into the fields]. However it appears that these canals have no sluices into the river, hence emptying them may not be possible....can we isolate these canals at least, so that they do not 'send' saline water into fields? Also, the non-utility of the canal water will lead to the farmers not being able to get a harvest after the rains. People need to look at alternatives, even "personal" rain water harvesting if possible. Conventionally the ponds are part of personal rain water harvesting, but those face the same problems as the fields (i.e. backflow from salined canals), since the ponds are at same level as cultivable land. I almost went down into a pond beside the primary school while crossing the fields. Essentially, this feedback from farmers seemed to highlight that the cultivable lands and the ponds may well be the lowest points in the system with no drainouts available. If that is the case, isolation of rain water harvest canal is the temporary measure, and complete dewatering of that canal as well as of the fields is the long term measure required for next year's crop to be possible. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU6tprbJl8g

One of the farmers, Mr. Sarkar (I forget his first name), asked if they will get a certificate from the training. Surprisingly, he was trying to explore his career options as a full-fledged trainer who imparts training (similar to the role of the trainers in the current program)! He was requested to first concentrate on implementing the training into practice. He was also assured that if he is good at his work and is capable of communicating with people, there will be ample opportunities for him. If required, PAKT can then find a way to support him with the recognition that he is good at his job. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL-GucaRGG8

Mr. Sarkar was further explained by the trainers that there is an ongoing effort to make a 'knowledge core group' of sorts comprising of 4000 such farmers across the state who can train others. They will all be selected based on their work and their willingness to train others, rather than certificates. It has started with a meagre 35 farmers, and the group will take a long time to get fully populated with names. Hence Mr. Sarkar can always turn to that option at a later date when the immediate aim, that of implementing the solutions identified in current training, is achieved. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF05l6H3xi8

Farmers make a request. They bring to our notice that Chargheri Abaitanik Prathomik Bidyalaya (Chargheri Primary school) is at one extreme of the area we are supporting, and it would be preferable for other villages if either Kakmari Primary school or the High school at Santigachhi is chosen as the venue for next training programs. We are not sure of the modalities to make this change work, and will need to have further discussions to agree to this change. However, the very bad shape of the mud 'roads' (if you can call them so) at all places in the rainy season means some have to travel close to 1½ hours on treacherous path to attend program at this 'remote' location. Apparently the 2 alternative locations suggested above are relatively more central to the area than Chargheri Abaitanik Prathomik Bidyalaya (current venue). However we make it clear that the current training venue cannot be changed for this edition of training. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJOm5ETgCsg

Trainers egg the farmers of the 4 villages to be "Paagol" (Mad) i.e. single-minded about the purpose they now have at hand - of making some kind of produce this winter from the pieces of land they have. They need to forget the odds against them and get down to the work itself. Our trainers try to inspire them with the fact that people from far-away Kolkata like us are making this tough trip repeatedly to support them. Although we all know that there can be no comparison of our fortnightly ordeal with their life-changing nightmare, it was the need to be single-minded that our trainers were trying to demonstrate. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_aURqkmyM

The trainers ask the farmers to go ahead and do something for us (PAKT & their trainers). They are told that they can make us feel satisfied about this work and believe that all our efforts were worth it. We will be almost as happy as they will be if 3-4 months down the line a few of them can stand up and say that they have been able to bring about a postive change in their post-Aila condition by sticking to the guns and putting in the hard yards to produce some alternative crops. [Please amplify your volumes if sound is inaudible]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYfdoEj2lE

An outside view of the front side of Chargheri Abaitanik Prathomik Bidyalaya, where the inaugural crop training program is held. We are told that the dilapidated building on left side of the main block is a result of Aila fury. Also, we are assured that the continuation of training till Monday should not interfere with the classes (Even if it did, we would have preferred the school to remain closed for a day to let the training continue. Having this training is far more important than a day's schooling for young kids at this point of time)

Employment of some people from Chargheri at various hotels

We have missed out on highlighting to you the news of another important bit of support that we could provide to some people of Chargheri over the past 2 visits. I am including Kaustuv's email below which some of you may have already received. It is self-explanatory. This is a very effective initiative for which PAKT's Khelaghar and Biswajit da have taken a leading role.

Inspite of the desperate condition that they find themselves in, people of Chargheri have generally shown mixed responses when presented with the option of moving out for a job. Hopefully a feedback from the four people, who have already moved out by taking up jobs at Sikkim, will help some others make up their minds on taking up the remaining offers available.

--------------

"As per the commitment made by PAKT to the local people of Chargheri, we have successfully placed 4 men from Chargheri into Hotel jobs at Rinchenpong, West Sikkim. These guys halted overnight at Kolkata
on 8th Sep'09. On 9th Sep'09 they departed for Sikkim via Darjeeling Mail and on 10th Sep'09 they have reached the hotels at Rinchenpong, safely and in good health.

All the arrangements for these 4 men, since they reached Kolkata, have been done by the Hotel owner Mr. Dibbendu Ghosh. He has also arranged for garments, shoes and other necessities of these 4 men. At present these 4 men are working in two Hotels at Rinchenpong. They will undergo a training cycle of 2/3 months, after which they will be fully functional to serve the Hotel & its customers.

The names of these 4 men are - Harekrishna Mondal, Surajit Mondal, Manab Mondal & Ranjan Mondal. They are placed in the hotels, "Rinchenpong Nest" & "Norla", at Rinchenpong, West Sikkim.

This is just the beginning of the PAKT's Employment Rehabilitation program. We are planning to provide such placements to 15 more villagers from the Aila affected Chargheri area and hopefully this shall be accomplished within a month's time. At present, we are satisfied to be able to save at least 4 families by providing them an alternative livelihood.

Regards,

Kaustuv (on behalf of
PAKT)"

Agricultural Training Phase II

From tomorrow Second Phase of Agricultural Training on alternative crop cultivation will be starting at Chargheri. The first phase of training program, initiated during our last visit (on 5th September), was successfully completed on 7th, covering over 25 farmers from our five villages: Chargheri, Parasmani, Santigachhi, Bidhan Collony and Lahiripur. The training started with a great enthusiasm almost 40 farmers were present on the first day including a number of women folks. Trainers are happy with the keen interest of the villagers and the trainees are satisfied after learning something new. The trainers from the NGO
SWANIRVAR, Mr Narayan Bachar and Mrs Anjana Mandal, will again be back to Chargheri Primary school tomorrow (on 11th September) to resume the second phase of training with a fresh batch of 25 farmers. This time the trainers will distribute some seeds to the trainees of last batch so that they can start experimenting in the field. The trainers have suggested for arranging lunch for the trainees to ensure uninterrupted day long training and PAKT has readily agreed to arrange for the same. The responsibility of food and lodging of the trainers during these three days will be taken care of by Purbasha, our local group of friends. We have requested the trainers to identify at least 10 trainees from the last batch who can impart further training to some more farmers in the villages. This way we will try to benefit maximum possible villagers from this agricultural training program.

As advised by SWANIRVAR, the farmers will have to start working with the new techniques in their fields by October 15th. That is essential to have a crop of suitable vegetables during the coming winter. The seeds can always be handed over to them before that deadline but the key part is making hundreds of farmer families aware of what needs to be done with those seeds under the prevailing conditions.

The only way to achieve this is to train 2 or 3 batches of farmers through external trainers and then getting the rest of the farmers trained by these trainees. In other words, trainees will need to become trainers within a span of days. This is easier said than done. The first thing they will need to do that is some initial work on their fields with the alternative methods.

To achieve this, we have tried to make sure that the trained farmers start on their fields within days of receiving training. This is the principal reason behind PAKT distributing seeds to first lot of trainees this early. Subsequently they can train others in their villages about the procedures learnt by them. This is the only way to attain the target that by early October, majority of the villagers will be ready to make productive use of the seeds that PAKT plans to support them with.

PAKT banner

We have been asked a common question by some of the readers of these blogposts: "Is it you or Purbasha doing this relief work?" Some of the queries are from contributors to PAKT effort. When we tried to look for the reasons behind this common query, we found that most of the people in our video interviews referred to 'Purbasha' the eco-tourism group as the organisation that distributes relief to them. They do not seem to be well aware of PAKT's contribution to the relief they get, perhaps because they 'see' only Purbasha at the distribution point. Even the pictures we share show banners of Purbasha.

Till date we (PAKT) have not put up any banner during our activities at Chargheri. Purbasha is a local eco-tourism group that was already known to the locals before Aila happened. Now in this post-Aila phase, Purbasha are not only playing a 'visible' role in the final step of distributing the relief after our boat reaches Chargheri, they also put up their banner at each of the distributions. As a result the general impression that comes out to commoners is that 'a group of people from Kolkata' are coming regularly and Purbasha is doing this with their support. The name PAKT is not known to many people.

Why have PAKT not put up their own banner? The answer is simple. We never had any intention to put up photos of our banner and let people see those. Trying to publicise the PAKT name is something that we never intended to do. We are not 'regular's or NGO's. PAKT was formed only to carry out this effort. Yes, we do try to publicise this relief & rehabilitation work going on at Chargheri through the net and email communications. But it is done solely to bring in more help for the people we are supporting. Publicising the name under which this work is being done is the last thing on our minds.

The principal reason for sharing the pictures and videos was to update our contributors about our activities. We owe it to them that they learn in detail where there money is going. Another purpose of bringing the videos & snaps up on the net is to demonstrate the need to support people in the area we have chosen. The PAKT group at Kolkata felt that presence or absence of PAKT's banner did not have much to add or take away from the purpose of PAKT.

PAKT had no objections to Purbasha putting up their banner and publicising their participation in this welfare activity. They were our local facilitators and were also contributing to the effort. They too are providing the support to their village folk as a welfare job. Besides mobilising their own people at Chargheri to handle huge foodstocks on every visit, Purbasha's contribution also includes meeting us at Kolkata in between visits to chalk out way ahead, distribution of cards, passing important information to locals and such other supporting work. If they wanted to put a banner up for that participation, we did not see much harm in that.

However the 'invisibility' of PAKT at distribution activities, essentially our unwillingness to announce ourselves, has resulted in a lack of awareness of people about the name 'PAKT'. PAKT's contribution is well known amongst people though. We can assure you that the people there know each one of us in PAKT very well. It is just that they are not particularly aware that our collective name is PAKT. They visualise us as "the Kolkata guys that bring in the stuff for Purbasha". We really did not care about it as long as the job is getting done.

Now we know that this invisibility of PAKT is a reason of concern and query for our contributors and supporters. We will take full heed of that concern. We will strive to make more people aware of the critical role of PAKT in the activities being taken up. This will start right away from the coming visit to Chargheri on 5th September. Purbasha have also offered to spread the word on the leading role played by PAKT in the welfare activities that are reaching them.

A banner is expected to help spread the name of PAKT amongst the people we are supporting. Hence we shall have a banner pretty soon!

Update: Here's the banner. It was displayed in the distribution venue durng seventh visit. This snap is clicked there. The role of PAKT was also announced to the people who collect assistance from us.

Doctor on 6th trip: Dr. Santo-da joins us

His full name is Dr. Susanta Bhattacharya. He is universally known as Santo da to people who know him, and he does not mind us calling him by that name at all.

Santo-da joined in as a friend of Debajyoti-da who wished to assist our effort. He took to the trip like the proverbial fish (or duck) did to water. He was kind enough to sit through nearly 4 hours and untiringly check all the patients (more than 100) attending this week's medical camp with various complaints. He also did some sorting work on the stocked medicines. Thanks to Santo da's contribution to the sixth trip, we are now satisfied to a degree that the medicines stocked by us so far at Chargheri during previous visits was properly distributed.

There is further scope of improvement in sorting & supplementing the medical stocks. We will need help from Debajyoti da and Santo da for it.

At a more opportune moment, I would like to put up a post exclusively on Santo da (with inputs from Debajyoti da, as I only know him for a day). Let me tell you that he is a man of many parts.

Informative videos on Chargheri 4th trip

Please find in this post some youtube video links of the 4th Chargheri visit videos uploaded on youtube (chronologically sequenced below - links given in red font).

Many of these videos are 'annotated'. In other words, texts explaining specifics now appear in the video at relevant points, and automatic pauses have been also provided in the videos as suitable so as to let you read the information on offer. The annotation has been done with the aim of explaining the contents of these videos better, as well as to try and take the viewer close to the scene of action.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxiWYa4QAQo

(En route videos showing that high tide water level in Sunderbans area generally exceeds ground level inside the dykes)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8mpRdEENds

(Our boat is poised to enter, through a breached dyke of Chargheri, into an area that used to be agricultural land till 28th May)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiHPq66ieXQ

(Our boat sails through earstwhile Chargheri farmland that is now lost to the river due to dyke breach during Aila)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1esm5GEhTs

(View of Broken dykes)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PCx4KF2pRw

(Another video of land areas lost to the river)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inFZdsLGV6s

(Dewatering pumps on dyke)

----------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTrQ_1L0m4Y

(Location of lowtide access to Chargheri from the river bed - now inundated due to hightide)

----------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYG9IEtMBTM

(New dyke under construction)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2XhDW1PJVY

(Implementation of distribution through cards)

---------------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hH7zCNIrXw

(Saptarshi on the job)

----------------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws2kYxcGtCI

(Interview with local old woman)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4sSoexsFJs

(Dipankar pushing injection - and apathy of some local people to cleanliness)

-----------------------------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwPuiEecni0

(Return to the boat in heavy rain - and a remote view of banks of Chargheri at dusk as we walk deep into river bed in the lowtide to get back to boat)

---------------------------

These links were already provided in the previous blog posts on 4th visit. However the annotations added to these videos over the past few days will hopefully serve to speak out on the situation at Chargheri as we see it, and on the distribution process that we have implemented. We believe you will find these video more informative after the annotations.

It will be gratifying if supporters of Sunderban cyclone relief activities (of any kind - HSI or otherwise) and other interested netizens can have a look at these videos. Request our friends to forward this post / these links to any other persons / organisations you know who may be interested in supporting cyclone affected people in Sunderbans.

Focus on next week's visit (5th trip, 8th August)

As we have shared earlier, we are intent on saving conveyance costs by cutting down on number of visits. In other words, distributing for two weeks in one visit.

In line with that, last week we had distributed rice to the people of the five villages for two weeks (i.e., 2 x 500 gms = 1 Kg/head for 2 weeks). This gives us a spare weekend, as also a fine scope to plan the details and logistics for our next visit including assessment of our fund situations.

Dipankar is likely to join us in the evening today with an updated list of families. During that meeting we plan to discuss and look into other observations and requirements that we noted down during last visit.

Thank You! We know you are with us

Some of our wellwishers have already responded to our request for support. A few of them have also requested other people they know for extending support. And we have got positive responses from those quarters too.

A few have offered to help HSI (Help Sunderbans Initiative) financially. Others have contributed by extending our call of help to reach more people. There are those who have also offered to come with us to help the distribution.

We sincerely hope that this post gets read by anyone who has extended, or wishes to extend, his / her hand in one capacity or the other towards the people of Sunderbans who brought us all together.

All we can say now to all of you is:

We are encouraged, inspired and energised by your spontaneous responses. We are banking on you to see this through. All we require now is the message of need to help the affected people to spread as wide as it can. We are some way into the journey, but we have a long way to go. And we will need the support to keep coming in all the time.

We are visiting Chargheri tomorrow (actually today). This time we plan to distribute food materials for 2 weeks. It will not be easy at all. Everything except the number of people will be double. It will be a challenge to complete it all before dusk.

But then this saves us about 4500 bucks per fortnight by way of cutting the transport expense into half.