While still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, several parts of Odisha and Telangana recently witnessed heavy to very heavy rainfall, causing floods in several locations. With villages and slums inundated, crops ruined, and houses and other community infrastructure damaged, affected people in these states needed urgent support. Our teams in both these states were immediately on the ground, standing in solidarity with those most vulnerable and providing them humanitarian support.

We reached out with relief material to the worst-hit households in Puri, Odisha and in Hyderabad, Telangana. With support from Greta Thunberg Foundation, we distributed dry ration and sanitation kits to a total of 500 families across five villages in Kanas and Pipili blocks of Puri district. We are also grateful to Greta Thunberg Foundation for helping us support 155 extremely vulnerable families living in the badly affected bastis of Hyderabad with ration and sanitation kits. As part of the second round of our relief distribution in Hyderabad, we provided ration and sanitation kits to a total of 890 disadvantaged families.

The people we reached out to as part of our relief interventions included daily wage workers; women, including single women; and the elderly. In light of the ongoing pandemic, our teams have been ensuring that all necessary safety protocols are followed during the distribution programmes. All relief activities above were carried out together with our local allies and with support from volunteers and community leaders, especially women.