Chandramani Malik, 75, from Badatara in Gop block of Puri, Odisha, has been living with a physical disability for the last 30 years. His wife, Sakhimani Malik, his two sons and a daughter have been his source of strength all these years, he says.

Living with a disability isn’t easy. And vulnerabilities just get multiplied in times of disaster! Recollecting how he braved the devastating Cyclone Fani that made landfall in the state on May 3, 2019, Chandramani shares, “We received the cyclone warning through government officials. On May 2, my sons carried me to a nearby pucca house for shelter. When we returned home after two days, we found our house completely damaged”.

In addition to the ration provided by the government to affected households, ActionAid India, as part of its emergency response, also provided dry food ration kits to the affected families in Badatara. Subsequently, with support from NTT Data, ActionAid India provided house repair support (in the form of material such as bamboo, straw and mud) to the worst-affected households there, including Chandramani’s.

Chandramani thanks ActionAid India and NTT Data for their timely support in this hour of crisis. “Your support will enable us to recover from the aftermath of this cyclone,” he adds.

Recognizing that emergency situations affect vulnerable communities disproportionately, ActionAid focuses on people living in poverty and exclusion, and amongst them women, children, the elderly and persons with disability. ActionAid works with proven processes of accountability and transparency to all stakeholders, including the communities it serves.