By Nalini N. Paul, CARE India
“I don’t know where to begin picking up the pieces of my life. My house has collapsed. I also had some chickens with which I used to support my family but they are dead. I have been wearing this sari for the last five days as I don’t have any clothes left,” says Namita Manna. She belongs to Kesto Mohanpur village in Patherpratima Block of South 24 Pargana - one of the villages severely affected by Cyclone Aila, which hit the State of West Bengal on 25th & 26th May. Most of the mud houses have been completely damaged. The waters have inundated the fields, washing away crops and future income.
Namita Manna is one of the many who has lost practically everything to Cyclone Aila. Before the cyclone devastated her village, Namita was a village volunteer appointed by CARE’s partner Human Development Centre, implementing the Integrated Nutritional Health Project (INHP) in South 24 Pargana. She was also a member of the local self-help group called Saroda.
“As I am a village volunteer with the nutritional health project, I know I should be in the field helping people in this hour of crisis, but I am losing energy day by day and am completely exhausted as the only thing I have eaten in all these days is chura and gur (puffed rice and jaggery, local dry rations). I don’t have the energy to do anything. Some cooked rice is all I want.”
When asked what is the kind of help she needs, she says, “If the aid agencies can help me construct my house I would be grateful. That would take away a lot of pressure off me. I plan to take a loan from the self-help group of which I am a member as it has a saving of 10,000 Rupees ($212 or 150 Euros). But all the other members will also be applying for the loan and therefore I am not sure how useful that money would be. But I am willing to struggle and make both ends meet.”
The most important need now is temporary shelters and clean drinking water. CARE is beginning relief distribution activities in coordination with the government and other aid agencies. The State Government of West Bengal has taken the responsibility of providing food and water pouches to the people. While a new home for Namita and many like her is still a distant dream, she can at least look forward to some food and clean drinking water to renew her spirits at this dismal hour.