A group of volunteers who came together to help the flood affected in Chennai have also volunteered to do relief work in Manipur which was recently hit by an earthquake. They hope to carry on the initiative and help those who have been affected by natural disasters.
The Tamil Nadu Flood Support group was formed during the December floods. They mobilised volunteers and materials and delivered supplies to various areas in the city. Speaking about their work, one of the volunteers said, We met with several challenges as we tried to reach out to people. Many had supplies and funds and did not know how to reach people. Much time was lost in transporting supplies. Sometimes, there were more volunteers than was necessary at one place. (We) created www.chennaiassemble.com which enabled (us) to assess requirements and availability of resources. We continue work as there are places in Cuddalore and Chennai where residents need such help. We set up collection centres in many places, including Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, to mobilise supplies and coordinate through the website.’
They are now coordinating efforts with other groups such as Red Elephant Foundation, Flood Support Manipur and Sphere India. Say the volunteers, Our Chennai experience has taught us to identify the specific needs of people and avoid supplying things they don`t need. For instance, we realised much later about the need for children’s clothes in Chennai. In Manipur, there is a greater need for materials like tents and warm clothes than for volunteers. We are planning to gather more support and funds for the relief operations from ICON-MUN in ICFAI, Hyderabad where students from various colleges will congregate for a conference this month-end. Our focus is to be more transparent in feedback about relief operation. We want to mobilise disaster management teams and keep the spirit alive among the volunteers through our initiatives.