Swarna Das, 45, lives with her husband, two sons, two daughters and an ailing mother-in-law in a small house in Lalakadasanthi village of Gop block in Puri, Odisha. Both she and her husband, Bairagi Das, are into daily-wage work.

Recollecting how her family endured the devastating Cyclone Fani that made landfall in the state on May 3, 2019, Swarna shares, “We received the cyclone warning through government officials. On May 2, along with other villagers, we moved to a nearby government school for shelter and stayed there till May 4, only to return home and find our house all devastated. The roof was gone and the walls too”.

Immediately after Cyclone Fani, as part of its emergency response, ActionAid India reached out to the affected families in Lalakadasanthi village with dry food ration kits. 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 in the village, including Swarna’s.

“Our heartfelt thanks to ActionAid India and NTT Data for their timely support at a time when we were coping with this disaster and needed a roof over our head. This support will go a long way in helping us recover and get our lives back on track,” says Swarna, as she fixes the mud wall of her hut. She hopes to get a pucca house soon so that her family can lead a safe and secure life in a disaster-prone state as Odisha.

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.