Moti and Durbari: New homes will protect us from floods

Moti is a Musahar of Piprapati village in Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh state. As one of the most marginalised groups in India’s caste structure, Musahars have known abject poverty, discrimination and hunger for generations.

Moti and his six family members are agricultural wage earners. They also depend on forest produce. In summers, they sell firewood collected from nearby forests for Rs 40 while agricultural labour brings them a daily wage of Rs 50. But monsoon is a time of crisis. No firewood and no agricultural work force them to go without any earnings.

“During rains, there is no work. No work means no money. Those are hard times for us,” says Moti.

But Moti and other Musahars of his village are aware of the power of collective strength. As a member of Musahar Vikas Pahal, a community organisation supported by ActionAid, Moti borrows as well as contributes to the grain bank that ensures food in tougher times. 

Floods this year destroyed thousands of homes in Uttar Pradesh. Moti’s was one of them. He and his family saw their clothes, belongings and food being swept away. But prompt support from the European Commission (ECHO) and ActionAid came in the form of 25 kilos of rice, 1.5 kilos of pulses, two litres of oil, 100 grams of spices, salt, soyabean nuggets and polythene sheets.

“We were helpless when floods damaged our house. Musahar Vikas Pahal helped us by providing rice, pluses etc. Government authorities did nothing for us,” says Moti. 

Anti-mosquito sprays and health camps also helped villagers steer clear of water-borne diseases.

Besides immediate relief, ActionAid is helping Moti and several other Musahars build stronger and higher homes that could protect their occupants from future deluge.

“Now even if floods come, we will be safe in our new house because it is stronger than our previous hut,” says Moti’s wife Durbari.

ActionAid’s cash for work programmes including digging, constructing village roads and filling trenches get them Rs 100 a day. Much needed income with no local work until April harvest. So far Rs 1, 90,000 have been spent on cash for work activities as part of ActionAid’s flood response in Uttar Pradesh.