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CARE TODAY: REBUILDING
GUJARAT FUND
Foundations Of The Future
The January 26 earthquake in Gujarat wreaked
unprecedented devastation in the state. CARE TODAY swung into action and
within 24 hours, a separate Gujarat quake cell was frenetically working
on relief efforts. Our readers contributed in equal
measure by donating Rs 335 lakh, which was initially used for emergency
relief and later for rebuilding. An overview of the rehabilitation effort.
More than eight
months after the quake hit Gujarat, efforts to restore normalcy to the
lives of its residents are still going on. Within minutes of receiving
the news of the earthquake, CARE TODAY organised an emergency medical
team from St John's Hospital, Bangalore, to extend medical aid to victims
in the Kutch region. A grant of Rs 4 lakh was given to the hospital for
the purpose.
Later, we began the process of rebuilding the
houses of those who were left without shelter by nature's fury. The Eklavya
Education Society, which is working to restore educational facilities
in the battered state, was given Rs 5 lakh. CARE TODAY also supported
the rebuilding of a school in Aadariyana village of Surendranagar district,
which now rings with voices of children hard at school work.
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WALLS OF HOPE: The design of the two-room
houses which can withstand earthquakes
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CARE TODAY is supporting the reconstruction of
houses for 450 families in the Pachham region in partnership with the
Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS). The houses are designed to be quake-proof
with two circular rooms and a special "steel collar" surrounding
the plinth. CARE TODAY is providing assistance of Rs 45,000 to each family
and will spend a total of Rs 2.17 crore on this project. The kmvs has
already received the first instalment of Rs 43.33 lakh.
The first phase of construction has begun. In
Meghpar-Navavas and Nani Daddhar, 76 families have completed excavation
and construction work up to the plinth level. Many like Sukariya Bijal
Maheswari, a labourer from Meghpar village whose house was flattened in
the quake, have reasons to be hopeful. They will complete constructing
their houses by November. Homes for 217 more families will be complete
by January next year and for the rest by April 2002.
Discussions are on with the Kutch Navnirman
Abhiyan over schemes for bringing comfort to the large number of people
who were disabled in the calamity.
Eight badly affected individuals were given
grants of Rs 5,000 each for their immediate needs. CARE TODAY had made
three-year fixed deposits of Rs 75,000 for each of them. The monthly interest
of Rs 600 on this amount will help take care of their basic needs. A total
of Rs 6.4 lakh has been spent on this.
Of course, the driving force behind these efforts
has been the heartfelt sympathy that people across the country showed
in the form of generous donations to the Rebuilding Gujarat Fund. The
efforts to restore normalcy in the state continue as Gujarat finds hope
again.
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