Bihar Flood Relief : Update from Baidhnathpur Relief Camp and Nearby area

Email from Chandan
---------------------------------------------------------------
Team distributed Books, notebooks, pencils,erasers, ludo, chess, football etc for children/kids at Baidhnathpur Govt. relief Camp.
After distributing the stationary and toys the team left (two hours late) for Dafarka embankment. Today was good, as now it has three small centers of education on that 4 km strip, as compared to only one, yesterday. The strength at these Centers went up by around 20 children/kids at each place. Because of the milk that's being provided to children/kids by our team. More kids are expected after slates and pencil were distributed in these centers today.
Guneshwar has done exceedingly well in his approach for having more education centers in these conditions... its showing..and its very encouraging.

Clothes sent by Capegemini( from Pune & Kolkata) were distributed, along with lots of biscuits, glucose, baby food and bedsheets(all sent by Capegemini group & others)On behalf of the beneficiaries and our team,We thank Capegemini group, other donors & all those behind the relief effort. You have touched a lot of lives out here !!
There are about 80-100 families here (out of 1200) who observe 'Roza' and it was difficult for them to store food and use it for breaking fast. Biscuits,dry food and milk powder provided by team has been a big help for them. Team distributed clothes sent by the donors. Its starting to look good.
I'll try to send you the list of things we need, but I have to make purchases locally as the need arises. We don't have time and transportation is very difficult, even from Trivenigunj or Supaul or Saharsa.
Team drove whole night & tried to reach the camps early morning (Its was 200 odd km of very bad drive). Team distributed relief materials & moved to next camp and tried to leave for base before sunset. It was bit tiring. So, whatever material we take is strictly according to needs of the camp.
Today I have to procure washing soap, bathing soap and milk powder. I'll get them locally tomorrow before leaving for camp.
I do understand the problems faced by accounts auditing team and their requirements, and am trying to address that issue.
Thank you guys. Thanks to all donors.
You are giving us all the help we need and all the support and things are shaping up.
Thanks & Regards,
Chandan

Situation of New Kosi Route

Kosi had broken into three tributaries near naugachia... and as today's satellite picture shows...only one stream of about 400-1000mt wide is alive and discharging straight into Ganges. It may be good because it means inflow and drainage of water through this rouge route of Kosi is getting less but it may be bad too, as more pools of stagnated water with rotting organic matter are exposes to aerobic conditions.
Disclaimer: We are not claiming any thing, Its just a prediction that has been published from flood relief operations point of view.

Bihar Flood Relief : Update from Ground Zero

Email from Chandan :

Team is leaving for Trivenigunj around 9 pm.We have with us around 2000 biscuit packets, cerelac and baby food, food grains and clothes for women and children. Guneshwar is buying slates, notebook, pen/pencil/eraser, course books for (CBSE) children upto class 3.

I 'll be arranging for books for higher classes.Guneshwar has brought a water testing kit ( Jal-Tara,Delhi), 100 collection units, 3 crate essential medicines, from Gujrat. If somebody can find a baby milk powder supplier from Amul who can deliver it to trivenigunj. That would be best for us.
Team is not carrying any milk powder tonight, as we dont have any space left in our vehicle.

I'll be in touch... thanks so much guys for holding on...its the strength of the team that inspires us to go in deep down and distribute stuff to people who really need them. We are touching places about 20 km below (India) the area where the embankments gave away...its still horrible..
I guess as the water level goes down, the scale and stench of this tragedy becomes more apparent.
It has to be a sustained effort to make even a bit of difference.

Thanks & Regards,
Chandan
+919931763070

Amidst unmentionable conditions...children want to study .

Developments for the day..

Guneshwar and team, after spending the night at space and comfort provided by kind patrons of Mandan Bharti Jagriti Samaj Saharsa,at Trivenigunj, left for Daparkhar embankment where 100's of family are taking shelter.

They are living in makeshift half shelters,open to nature. Sky above, Kosi below

The team distributed clothes, made sure milk was prepared and given to the children, use of chlorine was demonstrated,and chlorine distributed along the stretch.

They made a list of children, things they need, food they get, problems they have.

What was heartening through all the misery and "real" flood situation, was that.. there was a girl student who was teaching the children there.

Fifteen KM from nowhere, their home .. a stretch of embankment kilometers long, under the unrelenting sun or cascading sky, surrounded by Kosi river...this girl teaches kids.

So, you see.. all is not lost. There is hope...and there will be life in the remotest of places...just because of presence of small dedicated people who excel in distress.

The team left the embankment at around 3.00-4.00pm and are nearing Saharsa now...they should be Patna by early morning

At the Baidhnathpur govt camp, a teacher asked what will happen to the children who have to appear for the board exams next year. Their school is being used as a make shift relief camp, and it will take time for all camp to be shifted into mega camps..and hardly any students come to the schools as of now. So, although they are teaching in these camps, they would like to start classes at their regular schools asap.

Lets hope that none of the students who have registered for Board exams, are denied this opportunity. I am sure our government and education department are capable of dealing with this huge responsibility.

This is one thing that shines bright throughout the places we have been...right in the heart of kosi..the importance of education, and the continuation of the same amidst unmentionable conditions.

In bachhon ke aaknon me paani hai, chehre pe tez` hai..pata hi nahi chalta ki ye is traasadi ke beech hain.. its a wonder...and no wonder Bihar has excelled in education amidst poverty.

Next year, when these kids appear for their exams..it will be an answer to a very difficult and painful question mother nature asked them.
'Do you have it in you...can you swim through..can you be successful ?'

The answer will be a resounding "YES".

And tell you what, they will not be swimming towards shelter...they will be sprinting towards victory!

Touchwood !

Received Items from Capgemini, Pune and Kolkata

Today we received following material from Capgemini, Pune and Capgemini, Kolkata. These items are labeled and packed separately, which is a great help for us. We will save time on sorting and repacking. Thanks to all involved for their generous help, without your help it would not have been possible to carry out the relief operations.

Capgemini Kolkata - 5 boxes (sent by Mr Biplab Haldar, Consultant, IFM, Capgemini)

Capgemini
ASYST park, plot - GN37/1, sector V
Salt lake, Kolkata - 91

Containing following items:

Pants,Shirts, Tshirt,Salwar ,Salwar pant ,Dupatta,Saree,Bedsheet ,Sweater,Blanket,Childrens' pant,Children shirt,Towel,Shoes,Biscuit ,Chura,Sattu & Amul milk


Capgemini`~ Pune -

33 boxes ( Cleanly segregated & labeled)

Clothes - 10 box ;Food grains - 5 box,Biscuits - 6 box,Bedsheets - 12 box


Thanks a ton to all our donors. God Bless you all.

Baidnathpur relief camp, Saharsa.

Baidnathpur relief camp, Saharsa.

Its a largish camp with around 200 shelters.
We have distributed 480 odd garments which was with us. Food is provided by the Govt, and NGO's are not allowed to cook food or provide cooked food to the beneficiaries.

Milk powder is needed here, we have distributed around 46 kg of milk powder (along with the Aanganwadi volunteer and Camp caretaker), reckon we need more.

Lack of clothes here..most of the children here need clothes...they hardly hav any.

The teachers are holding classes for the school here since 7-8th sep. They hav some books for lower classes, but need stationary and books for higher classes.

Govt health workers have been maintaining the handpumps, providing potable water. Chlorine /Halogen tables are available here.

We are trying to get the list of students/age group to supply them with books/stationary.

They also need some kind of recreational activity, so trying to arrange for football/volleyball etc.

Things needed; Clothes,books,dietary supplements,...and more milk powder.

~Guneshwar/Srikanth
Baidnathpur,Saharsa. 1.30pm,sep152k9

PS: We will be sending the required materials by tonight. Also, would request someone from 'Goonj' to help these children with clothes, if possible. You can send clothes directly to our team in Patna from nearby city. As transportaion is taking too much time and cost so please post consignment from nearby city.

chandan

Bihar Flood Relief - Update from Ground Zero

Every flood affected district has mega 100’s camps running. Situation is improving. Our team is in touch with AOL (Art of Living) and Mandan Bharthi Jagriti samaj camp. But these operations are still restricted to urban areas. Other team is constantly looking at essential requirements that we can provide based on need and our capacity.

Now in addition to water purification tablets, essential medicines and baby milk powder we has decide to provide cloths for adolescent children, specially girls. We are concentrating on essential needs of women’s and children and team will take call based on the assessment of ground situation.

Today Guneshwar Ji (along with his friend) is going to Saharsha from Patna. They are carrying about 500 piece of cloths for children’s and baby milk powder. Guneshwar Ji will visit Mandan Bharthi Jagrithi Samaj relief camp at Saharsa today. We are expecting more requirements from Guneshwar Ji by end of the day.

Thanks to Guneshwar Ji and his friend for coming all the way from Ahmedabad and joining the team at ground.
Regards,
Vivek

Some more Items reached Patna

1) Clothes from Paladion, Vashi, Mumbai
2) Clothes (12 sacks) and medicines sent by Mr Rajul (Jamui)
3) Life Jacket sent by Sandeep Ji, Mumbai
4)300 packets of chlorine tablets (300x1000 chlorine tablets).
5) El-Chlor water purification tablets, in
blister packs
6) Purification Tablets 400Packs (Order placed by Mr. Partha
Sengupta from Hyderabad)
Thanks to Parth Sir for coming forward and providing us much needed water
purification tablets.Baby milk food sent by Vivek & Pinky Ji, Mumbai

Received Baby Food (88 Kgs, Cerelac) and 25 Life Jackets

We have received 8 cartons of Cerelac Baby food on 12-Sep-08, sent to us by Mr. Vivek Bhalla and Ms. Pinky Bhalla, Mumbai. It contained 88 KGs of Cerelac baby food for the kids in flood affected areas.

They also helped us in purchasing 200,000 Chlorine tablets for providing clean drinking water in flood affected areas.

We have also received 25 life jackets dispatched by Mr Sanjay (Biharbrains), Mumbai.

We have received Water Purification Tablets 400 Packs from Hind Pharma on behalf of Mr. Partha Sengupta from Hyderabad. The order of these medicine was placed by Mr. Partha Sengupta.Thanks to Parth sir for coming forward and providing us much needed water purification tablets.

Thanks a ton to all our donors. Their support in providing relief is very much appreciated and without support from people like you, it would not have been possible to provide any relief at the ground.
God Bless You All.

Requirements from Ground Zero

Pen, pencil, copybooks, other stationary items that's needed for small classrooms and students to class 3 , basically pencils,eraser,sharpeners and notebooks. clothing, specially underclothing for adolescent children, specially girls, soap shampoo hair oil comb nail cutters toothbrush paste vitamin supplements; The mega camps being put up by the govt is coming up well (touchwood !!) and now there are mini communities living within them. All these people hav lost everything, so they hav to start afresh. We are concentrating mainly on the women and children part as of now. UNICEF and RED CROSS are doing good work out in the pockets we are working, saharsa n purnia. Goonj is also doing really good work..they are based at saharsa and are distributing many of the things i mentioned above.

Cloths from Mumbai received, Courtesy Hrishikesh Sivanandhan @ Paladion India

We would like to thank Mr Hrishikesh Sivanandhan and the whole Paladion team for their support.

Hrishikesh Ji came across our blog and decided to support our flood relief activity.

Chandan confirmed today that he received one of the cloth boxes send by Hrishikesh Ji from Mumbai. Another box from Bangalore will be reaching Patna very soon. His team also donated Rs 50,000/- to our team for flood relief work.

We sincerely thank Mr Hrishikesh Ji and his team for their solidarity towards flood victims.

Update from Ground Zero

Despite the biggest manpower and agencies here, chlorine is not available.Yesterday, Sangeeta di, head of AOL(Art of Living), carried 150000 chlorine tablets and 40000 Si Dicor tablets to banmanki camp, Purnia, where they areworking with the Armed forces. Most of relief efforts carried out from there is in villages deep inside. Doctors from Army and Bangalore AOL chapter go there in shifts. Outside of some govt camps are tons of cloth lying in the open, rotting. Yet many are without clothes at other places. Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepur, Forbesgunj...you have literally 100's of camps. Political parties have their own camps..and they woo in victims with jalebi,puri,rice, dal,papad..kind of stuff u find in marriages. Thats great...people have choices now...they walk around n take their pick. But that doesn't bother Shaka's and bhandaaras which served them kitchri wen no one was there. Thats the good part..and that is mostly restricted to towns. Inside the flooded kosi belly are the main people who need help..and those are being undertaken by few committed organizations. That is where we give our supplies to. All the camps in city hav more than what they need..that's the fact...and maybe after sometime...these will find a way to interiors too..but not now. Guneshwar and friends want to work..they will join us from sunday.
chlorine has started to come in from day before yesterday...and most of them are already segmented and ready for dispatch. in fact,we are doing good..and the more hands we hav, the better it is to reach more areas. Its the delay in transportation thats causing up problems. There is never going to be enough for everyone out here. Regarding milk and baby food, you will get the responce from ppl who are using it soon..and you will be pleased to have put the money where it was needed.

Items received today.

1) 50 life jackets from Guneshwar,
2) 24 kg infant milk powder from prashant pandey, pune
3) 12 sack clothes and medicines from Jamui, sent by Mr Rajul.

Children~ future @ present.

Last fortnight death was not something that happened to others, it was a neighbor, constant companion…almost touching every part of the body; of every body who got in touch with river Kosi.

Kosi has started to settle down; people are coming out from places which shielded them from Kosi…uncertain about what the future holds for them.
Children bring hope, they are the “beginning” one looks at, when everything around you tends to end.
Three children were born in the last twos day at relief camps :)

One child will have ‘chatthi’ ( 6th day celebration after birth ) today… and there is happiness around...amazing to see how even an iota of happiness
spreads around in a sea of distressed humanity at the camps.

...and around 200 mothers are expecting babies in the days to come :)

The floods are not over yet…its still bad…but these are glimpses of
hope, of happiness .. lifts you up.

Those of you who want to send clothes, try to get clothes for children, colorful bright clothes.
Happy dresses !

Those who want to send medicines, try to get Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate tablets. Preferrebly in blister packs of 10’s 25's or 100’s. ;
These are water purification tablets for hand pumps, tube wells and large water tanks.


`chandan
+919931763070

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080064125&ch=633564785744614318

Send Medicines required in Bihar Flood Relief Camps

We have received request for following medicines. We are planning to send all the below mentioned medicines in a day or so.
-------------------------------------

1.Metronidazole Oral Suspension 60ml ;250x6.8:

Forbacteria and other microorganisms that cause infections of the reproductive trct, intestine, and other areas

2.Povidone Iodine Ointment :15 gm:500pc

Anti- bacterial application

3.Trimethoprim & Sulphamethaxole Syrup 60 ml.230x6.8

UTI infections, specially in children

5.Silver Sulfadiazine Cream 500 gm.;25x150

Antibiotic. As a cream it is used on the skin to prevent or treat serious infection.

Send baby Milk Powder for Children in Bihar Flood Relief Camps

Details of supply and dispatch of medicines:
These were the medicines delivered at Forbesgunj on 29th of aug.
Chlorine tables=90,000
ORS(Biotral)= 1180
Bioton syrup =499 pc of 60ml each
Paracetimol= 1000 tabs
Biospas tabs= 300
Toyodom= 450
Tonact tabs=500
One life jacket.
Things are slightly better at Forbesgunj now, there are seven relief camps running over there.
In the relief camps, its the infants n childrens who are most vulnerable, so would request to send milk powder and baby food( infant formula) if possible.

Would like to thank Guneshwar (Ahmedabad) who has been a constant touch throughout these two weeks. He went ahead,funded himself, sourced the supplier from interior Gujrat, procured them and has sent 50 life jackets and rescue ropes.In the comind days these will be our most important accessories.
He also sent some very effective homeopath medicines for snake bites. That was really an eye opener.
Out of many snake species out here, only four are venomous. During a flood, when a small non inundated area is the only dry place, all living organisms take shelter there. This is a hotbed for bites from snakes, scorpions, centipedes and the like.
Most of the snakebites are misdiagnosed because of water, darkness, confusion and of course the flood trauma. So when a patient is lucky enough to be taken to a hospital, many times wrong diagnosis do cause more harm than good. I mean if you are bitten by a non-poisonous snake, and bite marks are not clear, and one is nervous and hyperventilating, doctors have a very tough and risky judgment to make. whether or not to administer an anti venom and for which species ?
In such circumstances, the suggestions sent by Guneshwar r very handy
People like Guneshwar, Raj/ Manish, Alok, Sandeep and countless others are the real backbone of our state. They inspire others.
Then there are people like Vivek (Bangalore) ,who just called up, asked for what we needed, and has sent milk & baby food for the most susceptible of the flood victims ; the infant and the children.
Unknown names, they just drop in and help you; There's an Indian origin doctor from the US of A who wants to work for flood victims, an American web designer from Tamil nadu.. they just want to chip in. People like Dr.Goswaamy, whom we source our chlorine from, goes out of his way to ensure we have the fresh stock of tablets, at the cheapest rates and he pays for the freight. He’s from Bhopal, owns Hind Pharma, is aware of all the developments of flood in our state. When you talk to him,you can feel the pain and compassion in his voice. Humanity? You bet.
That’s my India. .thats the 'dhak-dhak' you will hear when you come close to the ground
That’s the beat of humanity.
I have met some wonderful people in this fortnight of darkness, destruction and death in bihar.
I have seen the grit, the sheer determination to hang on, to claw their way back, to fight against all odds and triumph over death, and still offer Prayers to the river that caused all this.
Where else can you find this kind of forgiveness, this depth of longing, of belonging, of attachment to ones motherland?
And once in a while, when we are not busy managing our luggage, we long for our homeland, our Bihar….and then we feel the void. It hurts.
Thanks to Rajiv,Vivek & Ashok,Ajit n Divyanshu (24x7) team, you guys are putting graveyard shifts to shame:) and to all those who have been guiding us.

t&r
+`chandan
+919934763070

Today's flood status release,Bihar Govt

Doctors and Medical Staff needed for Bihar Flood Relief Camps

We are looking for Doctors and Medical staff willing to work in the interior flood affected area in Bihar. Please come forward. We will not be able to provide any compensation or expenses however we will provide medicine and right contacts with people working at ground Zero.
We have larger number of cases of diarrhoea and mosquito bite.
Looking for volunteers and groups who can work with us

Regards,
Vivek
Hyderabad
Email: vivek.learner@gmail.com

Update from Patna Team

Dear friends,
The water levels have reduced in most of the affected areas.The new kosi is merging with Ganges at two points now, old and the new merging points. This acts as a buffer for the whole region and incidences of sudden spurt of water level will minimise.The reduced water level also brings in increase in chances of water borne infections. The most vulnerable sections are the infants and young children who are malnourished and exhausted by continuous exposure to extreme hardship.We have asked our friends to send milk powder, baby food supplements and the type to help these children to stabilize and recuperate properly. These children have already been exposed for up to 14 days extreme weather conditions and acute shortage of food.Guneshwar ji (Ahmedabad) and Vinod ji(Bangalore) have already sent/ are sending these for the children. All these products will be personally delivered to(primarily) women and children welfare camps in Supaul district; namely Birpur,Pratap gunj and Chatapur blocks. Chatapur is still out of reach and we hope the army will get in there today. Am attaching pictures of medicines sent to Forbasegunj. As reported, Forbasegunj is well equipped with supplies now,hence we will be starting with baby food at Supaul. I should be receiving 2nd consignment of chlorine( 3 lak tablets) today. I will update the details after receiving them.
t&r,
+`chandan
+919931763070

Cloth collection in Bangalore for Flood affected people

Cloths can be send directly to Red Cross PatnaYou can send Relief Material to Red Cross, Patna at following address:
Mr. S.P. Singh, IAS (Retd.)
Honorary Director
Bihar State BranchIndian Red Cross Society
North of Gandhi Maidan
Patna - 800001
Phone No: 0612 -2201035/6/7; 2226267

URL: http://www.indianredcross.org/east-india.html
Vivek
Hyderabad
http://biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com/

--- In Bihari@yahoogroups.com, "sksuman02" wrote:>>
Some of our friends wants to collect clothes for flood affected people.
Can someone pl let us know how to send from Bangalore.

regards
Suman
Bangalore

Bihar Flood : Shortage of baby Milk power in Relief Camps

Guneshwar Ji,
Please place the order ASAP. Give me a call or mail me.... I will transfer the needed money.
Regards,
Vivek
Hyderabad
....................................
Ashok Bhaiya,
I've planned to place order for milk powder today itself. I 'll try to find outbest possibleprice and send it by today evening. I can't wait more, please read this news
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/356654.html
http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/news/national/general/5_1_4779103/
I think we need to be more aggressive in oue work, lets not get discouraged And without much beurocracy we should focus on work.
We should be able to work as soon as possible because there is such a hugerequirementfor everything then for what we are waiting....lets not work in governementstyle
Aur jo likhte hain ki khane ka koi kami nahi hai unhe ye samachar padha dijye.....
I am very upset ...
And one more thing Indian Express has also started a citizen initiative, we canput thisinformation also on our blog. So far I have seen best coverage of flood relatednews inIndian express. So they must have reach upto ground level...So one can think ofprovidingfund to Indian express rather CM fund. Its just my opinion...
Regards,
Guneshwar.
--- In Bihari@yahoogroups.com, "Vivek Kumar" wrote:>>
All,
> A very disturbing news is coming from ground zero . There is a
> huge shortage of baby milk power at ground Zero. We are looking for procurement of baby >milk power. Please provide us pointers supplier.
> *Kindly mail me at vivek.learner@...* or call me.
> Regards,
> Vivek
> Hyderabad
> http://biharfloodrelief2008.blogspot.com/