A relief team

RELIEF AND REHABILITATION MEASURES AT TIMES OF NEED

PREM has notable experience in disaster management, especially in the delivery of relief and rehabilitation following cyclones, floods and drought that affect south Orissa. PREM actively participated in the rescue of people, particularly the Adivasi, Dalits and fisher people, in the cyclones of 1985, 1990, 1995 and 1999.

During the cyclone of 1995 PREM organized a network of local NGOs to increase the number of volunteers working to provide relief and rehabilitation. The network partners strengthened their efforts by enrolling volunteers from local Community Based Organizations (CBOs), youth clubs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) and assisting them to liaise with the district administration.

The Super Cyclone of October 17, 1999 was of a much greater magnitude than any cyclone of the previous two decades and in its aftermath greater

Rehabilitation and rebuilding after the 1999 Super Cyclone

A remodeled house for survivors of the 1999 Super Cyclone

A meeting with NGO and network partners on disaster
preparedness interventions

force and resource was required for relief operations. Following lessons learnt during the disaster management of the 1995 cyclone, PREM initiated a collaborative response with other local NGOs, under the banner of the Ganjam Cyclone Relief Voluntary Action Committee, to maximize resources and co-ordination in the relief work. This collaborative approach was replicated when, 13 days later, a cyclone hit Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Balesore and Bhadrak districts. In the task of rescuing people from the path and damage of the cyclone, PREM volunteered to manage information sharing, mobilization of funds and accountability for the network groups.

Between October 1999 to October 2000, PREM was instrumental in planning, implementing and evaluating strategies to provide phased relief and rehabilitation work to the Super Cyclone survivors of Orissa. In the first phase immediate relief was provided to the cyclone hit population. The second phase was devoted to organizing food for work, the third phase to livelihood support and the fourth phase to rehabilitation programmes.

PREM’s relief and rehabilitation work along with its network partners extended to one Municipality, two Notified Area Councils, 31 Blocks and 179 Gram Panchayats covering 1,212 villages. A total number of 45,326 families comprising of 280,000 cyclone affected people were benefitted in the Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Balesore and Bhadrak districts of Orissa.

In continuing its work in the field, PREM has promoted the East Coast Fisher People Forum (ECFPF) and East Coast Development Forum (ECDF) as a common platform for CBOs and NGOs engaged in development activities for the fisher people along the east coast of India, reaching West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

ECFPF has been well established in working among the coastal communities of the Bay of Bengal for the last 10 years and in response to the Tsunami on December 26, 2004 it took immediate action for relief and rehabilitation in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. After initial damage assessment through field visits, ECDF members organized local fundraising and volunteer mobilization to help supply food and medical assistance to affected families, distribute clothing and provide transportation for moving people to relief camps.

ECDF’s objectives in the relief phase were targeted to reach 11,600 families to re-establish their livelihood through the provision of food, essential kitchen items, fishing equipment and small grants for income generation activities. It worked in eight locations in the Tsunami affected villages.

ECDF currently focuses on coastal resource management, access and control of marine resources, environment protection and capacity building among women’s organizations and Panchayatiraj institutions.