Flood Relief Response Programmes in by MSW students of ADBU 2018

A report on

Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala

by 3rd MSW students

Assam Don Bosco University, 2018

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Assembly Report on the 29th October, 2018

On behalf of the Social Work Department of Assam Don Bosco University, I stand here to bring greetings from Kerala and to express our gratitude for your generous contribution during the times of crisis in Kerala.

I stand here to share with you a brief report on the nearly one month long continuous fieldwork trip of the MSW 3rd semester students to Kerala.

The journey began with the fund raising in both Tapesia and Azara campuses of ADBU, which was initiated by Asst. Prof. Victor Narzary of the Department of Social Work, along with the active participation of the MSW 1st Semester students.

A total, the contribution from Tapesia Campus was Rs. 83,000/- and from Azara Campus and the gracious contribution received from Fr. Dr. Stephen Mavely of Rs. 17,000. Thus a total of Rs 1, 00,000/-. One Lakh.

The entire funds collected were then forwarded to Don Bosco Institutions of in and Don Bosco Institution, Vaduthala in Ernakulam District. The funds were distributed to 20 families of flood victims for rehabilitation works in the presence of ADBU students.

In their fieldwork, the students, who numbered 11 in total, participated in the following activities:

1. Visit to various families and communities that were affected by the floods and landslides.

2. Attending the Rural Camp in Kannur District, Kadumeni village with Don Bosco College Sultan Bathery 1st Semester BSW and MSW students with an objective of understanding the flood victims after the events and involving in the rural community in Kerala.

3. Visit to educational institutions of St. Albert’s College, Rajagiri College and St. Thomas HS School which were converted into relief camps during the flood. The ADBU students had an exchange of ideas and culture between the students of the college and school.

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

4. Organisational visits to Pallaruthy Relief Settlement, Sneha Bhavan Palluruthy, Don Bosco Boy’s Home, the Don Bosco Psychosocial Training Centre and Capernaum Charitable Trust.

5. Manual work in the communities with the purpose of contributing towards the rehabilitation of the affected families.

6. Visit to historically and ecologically important places in the state.

From the fieldwork in Kerala, the team would like to share the following most important learnings and reflections:

1. Social media can be a major tool in spreading credible information during a disaster such as flood. In Kerala it was the college students and youngsters who really supported people with various social media such as Whats App, Facebook, etc.

2. The community as a whole really came together in a spirit of community and humanity when it came to in helping each other in the aftermath of the flood and during the flood, which was exemplified by fishermen rescuing thousands of people in the floods and the school children and youngsters moving to different parts of the states in helping the needy families cleaning the houses and providing very essential materials to people especially the poor.

3. There was equity in the distribution of the government aid to the flood and landslide victims, such as the tribals receiving a larger amount of monetary aid.

4. The people brought out their creativity in the times of crisis, this can be seen by their efforts to uplift each other’s spirits, using social media to communicate properly, using portable batteries to charge their phones and even having an Festival in the camp.

We are grateful to the fathers and the community members of Don Bosco Sulthan Bathery College and Don Bosco Vaduthala, Kochi. We also would like to thank ADBU, starting with Fr. Dr. Stephen Mavely VC, and the department of social work a special word of thank you

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Dr. Lukose, Sir Victor, Fr. Johnson K.P. who coordinated the programme and guided us at every stage of our visit to Kerala. Once again, a sincere word of thank you to all of our dear faculty members and students, who contributed much to this cause. Thank you to one and all, have a nice day.

Reported by Lambinus Raliang 3rd MSW

Detailed report

Introduction

Kerala is a state on the South-western, of . It is bordered by to the north and northeast, to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. It is also known as 'God's Own Country, Spice Garden of India, and the Land of Coconuts'.

It is the thirteenth-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts: the north of Kerala consists of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, ; the Central Kerala districts of Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki and the South Kerala districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram(state capital). Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. According to the 2011 census, Kerala has the highest literacy rate of 93.91%, the the highest life expectancy with an average of 77 years; and the highest sex ratio, 1,084 women per 1,000 men. Kerala is home to 43 large dams with a collective capacity of nearly 7 trillion litres. The Dams are used to manage rivers, storing their water, adjusting flows and redirecting channels.

In 1924, Kerala faced a combination of heavy rain and a breached dam triggered deadly floods that claimed 1,000 lives. Now, 94 years later history has repeated itself, killing at least 370 people, displaced 780,000 and caused ₹ 50,000 crore worth of damage. Besides the dams there were also other man made issues of quarrying and urban development that contributed to the fatalities. These activities led to landslides in Idukki, Thrissur, Wayanard and Kollam.

For the continuous fieldwork the student social workers focused on two main districts: Wayanard and Ernakulam District. Wayanad is a district in the north-east of Kerala state, India with headquarters at the town of . The district is 3.79% urbanised, with three municipal towns Kalpetta, and Sulthan Bathery. Ernakulam refers to the

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018 eastern, mainland portion of the city of Kochi in central Kerala. These two districts were chosen as there were towns within the districts that were badly affected by the floods.

Details of contributed funds

Fund raising was done by Assam Don Bosco Uiversity students and staff in Tapesia campus for Kerala flood victims and the fund raising was spearheaded by Sir Victor and other social work department faculty and 1st Semester MSW students.

The students and faculty of ADBU contributed Rs. 83,000/-

Fr. Dr. Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor made a contribution of Rs. 13,000/-. And thus bringing the grand total to Rs. 1, 00,000/- for Kerala.

The fund was distributed between Don Bosco College, Sultan Bathery in Wayanad and Don Bosco Vaduthala in Ernakulam and distributed between 20 families, in the presence of the 11 volunteers of ADBU students of MSW 3rd semester. These funds would go towards the rehabilitation of the affected families affected by the flood and landslides.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES

Pre-planning  Prior to the field work in Kerala, the student social workers had to prepare themselves for their fieldwork as it was focused on a major disaster that the student social workers were unfamiliar with the intensity of the calamity. The preparations started with the fundraising which was initiated by Sir Victor Narzary and the student social workers of the first semester.  The students went through a selection process, which was an interview, conducted by the department and as a result 11 volunteers were selected to go to Kerala.  The selected students from the 3rd semester MSW were oriented by the Faculty members of Social Work department, which helped the students to get ready with their mind and heart for it.  The preparations started with several meetings with Fr. Johnson, field supervisor who guided the team throughout the process of how to reach Kerala, the tentative plans for

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

the duration of their stay in Kerala and how to go about the entire process to accomplish various objectives.  A class on Disaster management was taken by Fr. Johnson K.P.  Dr. Lukose P.J took class on how to address the particular situations where people have lost all their belongings and have been traumatized by the sudden incident.  Dr. Jacob and Ms Inam also shared their knowledge on Kerala and flood in general and motivated the volunteers.  Before they left for their fieldwork they had the final meeting with the MSW 1st Semesters, along with the faculty and Fr. Dr.Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor, to inform him about the amount collected and to brief him on the activities that will be conducted in Wayanad and Ernakulam District, Kerala.

The journey from the railway station in Guwahati to the city of Bangalore took a total of three days and two nights in the train. The train went through the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The students were received by Don Bosco fathers at Bangalore Railway station on 18th of September and on that day evening the team left for Don Bosco Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad and reached the destination on the next day early morning. Fr. Sojan received the team at the Bus station and guided the programme at Sulthan Bathery.

Activities in Wayanad

The student social workers were guided and supervised by Father Sojan, the H.O.D of the social work department of Don Bosco College, Sultan Bathery. On the 19th of September, they joined the staff members of the Punar Jani (Reborn) Project to visit the affected areas near Manathavady.

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

 Visited the flood affected areas of Payyampally: the whole village was badly affected by the floods, the water rose up to about 8 feet damaging crops, plantations, property and even washing away livestock which were the main source of people's livelihood. There were also 5 families who lived in temporary homes that were provided by the government. They were also aided with Relief Kits which included rice, lentils and flour. Provisions were provided from various agencies such as the local Panchayat, governmental and non-governmental as well. Medical camps are also conducted to provide people with medicine and rat fever tablets as this is one of the areas which were affected with the epidemic of the rat fever.  Visited the Landslide affected areas of Pandikadavu: This was an area severely affected by landslide, the force of the landslide had wiped away a total of 12 houses but luckily no lives were lost as the residents of the village were evacuated before the disaster struck. The families are going to be relocated as the area is unsafe for them to rebuild their houses in that.  Visited the affected areas of Thirunelli, Pancharakolly and distributed the funds: The village is mainly occupied by a colony of a tribal group known as the Adiyars. Due to excessive and continuous rain the land on which their houses were built started to crack and water had forced its way through the cracks and the earth caved. The government has declared that land unfit for accommodation so the tribe will be relocated as well and the government is providing them with funds to build new houses. From this area 10 families were selected whose houses were completely destroyed and a formal gathering of the village was conducted where Fr. Thomas, the Rector of Don Bosco College Bathery and Fr. Sojan along with the staff of the project, the student social workers and the residents of the village were also present. The purpose of the gathering was to present to those families with the funds that were collected by Assam Don Bosco University. Since the total amount of the funds were 1 lakh the money was divided equally and each family was given an amount of Rupees 5000 only.  Visited the Tourist Destinations of Wayanad District: Visited the Eddakal cave in Kalpetta and the located in . From this visit the student social workers could see how the floods affected the ancient landmarks and the tourism of the state. Most of the tourist destinations were closed due to the after effects of the flood.

Activities in Kannur District The student social workers joined the BSW and MSW 1st year students of Don Bosco College, Sulthan Bathery for a Rural Camp in Kadumeni Village from the 20.09.18 to

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

27.09.18. The Camp was named ‘Kanal’ which means ‘Flame’. The activities conducted during the camp were: 1) Inauguration Programme. 2) ‘Get to know the Land’ 3) Manual Work 4) Input sessions on: Social Work Profession (by Dr Anood Antony) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (by Mr. Zaviarkutty Francis). 5) Street plays on issues of health and hygiene and Women’s issues. 6) Socio-Economic Survey 7) Life skills classes on self-discipline 8) Visited and interacted with the elderly women at the Holy Family - Shanty Bhavan Old age home. 9) Evaluation. 10) Cultural Programmes 11) Camp Fire activities 12) Grand Finale.

Activities in Ernakulam District The student social workers arrrived in Vaduthala on the 1st of October ’18. They stayed in the Don Bosco House in Vaduthala till the final days of their field work. The different activities conducted in Ernakulam are:  Gandhi Jayanti was celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation who was born on the 2nd October 1869. In Don Bosco Vaduthala they organised a short programme in the morning after the morning mass  Distribution of funds: On the 8th of October 2018, Father Sebastian had already arranged for the distribution of the funds so they had a short programme in front of the residential home and the money was handed over to 8 individuals. The remaining two will be handed over by Fr. Sebastian as the individuals from the other two families were not in attendance.  Manual Work: On the 9th of October, the student social workers had the privilege of helping the Thomas family whose house was badly affected by the floods. They were accompanied by Father Paulson, the Rector of Don Bosco Vaduthala. The student social workers had to carry a truck load of pebbles from the road to the construction site, which they completed in 2 hours. 8

Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

 Visited the flood affected areas: Ernakulam was highly affected by the floods, so the student social workers visited some of the affected areas of the district. They were guided by Mr. Joji Gabriel, Mr. Pravin Kumar, Mr. Vishal and Mr. Tinku.  Visited Kadamakkudy and Kumaranalloor: On the 2nd of October, the student social workers first visited Kothad which is an island surrounded by the River. It is part of Kadamakkudy Gram Panchayat. When the student social workers visited the homes the people expressed how they thought nothing of the rise of water at first but when it gradually increased they got scared and they started to evacuate their homes. They took refuge in relief camps or in the homes of their relatives.  The next village that they visited was Kochal located in Kottayam District. It comes under Kumaranalloor Panchayath. This area was badly affected by the floods as the water level had come up to the first floor of the concrete buildings. Some people were evacuated when the water level rose while others stayed and they were trapped in their houses or place of work for 2 days without food or water until the fisherman came to rescue them. The fishermen also had some difficulties as they did not know the routes of the area and their boats came into contact with walls and gates that caused damage to the boats. When the government offered to pay the fisherman for their services, they declined and asked the government to repair their boats instead. In both the areas there were no serious casualties and people received help in time like everyone else who was affected they received aid from various sources but the lost that they had succumbed too was so much more than what they received in compensation.  Visited Cherukadapuram and Kuthiathode village: The student social workers first visited Cherukadapuram village. This village is under the Parakkadav Block in Ernakulam District of Kerala. When they reached the village the interacted with one family who told them that they took refuge in the church during the floods. They also mentioned that people were airlifted during the rescue and the weight of the helicopter had ruined the church. So they went to the Fatima Matha Church to investigate. The church seemed to be perfectly fine apart from the water marks and ruined doors. They met the Parish Priest, Father Roy to make further inquiries and he explained to them that the church was affected during the floods and people forts stayed in the Parish hall but when the water levels rose they moved to the Father's residential area and they stay in the first floor for 2 days with limited food and water. They made calls to the Army, the Navy, the Police and anyone that they could as they were desperate for

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

help. The Navy tried to rescue them but the attempt failed because of the force of the water they were unable to locate them. On the 2nd day they were rescued by the fishermen. Father Roy also informed them that the church they were asking about was the neighbouring church where they got the news that people had died during the floods. The student social workers moved on to the next church, St. Francis Xavier Church, Kuthiathode. When they saw the building next to the church they were sure that it was the church that they were looking for. They spoke to the people who were in the vicinity of the church and they told the student social workers that the building was a residential area for the Fathers and the church staff. The building is a 150 years old and during the flood the parish priest had looked the entrance to the building and he also warned the people that the building was too old it will not hold a large number of people. 800 people stayed in the parish hall while 100 people stood on the verandah of the old building and that's when the verandah collapsed and it caused 6 deaths and many people were injured. The navy soon came to the rescue but the bodies of the departed were taken out only after 4 days by the army because of the water and large amount of debris that had fallen on the bodies.  Visited Aluva and Kadavanthra: First the student social workers visited Manappurample or Aluva Shiva Temple which is one of the famous Shiva temples in Kerala and it is located on the banks of the Periyar River. The famous Aluva Sivarathri is celebrated at the temple in Aluva Manappuram. The location of the temple makes it more likely to be susceptible to floods during the monsoon season but during the previous flood the water level had covered the entire temple. The flood waters have subsided and people are continuing with their religious activities in the temple but due to heavy rains and the opening of the gate dams the water level has started to rise again but not at an alarming rate.  From the temple, the student social workers went to an interior region of Kadavanthra Village where they interacted with some of the residents of the area and they came to know that this part of the village was isolated during the floods. Since the particular part of the village is located on the banks of the river and the force of the water made it difficult for rescuers to provide people or the relief camps with relief materials so a helicopter had to go and drop the supplies at the camps. People in this village suffered a lot after the camp despite losing everything that they owned they also had other

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

problems such as the factories near the Periyar River releasing all their waste into the river which caused many people to get sick and suffer from skin diseases.

 Institutional Visit: while in Ernakulam the student social workers visited a few institutions who were converted to relief camps during the floods.

. St. Albert’s College: On the 4th of October, the student social workers were accompanied by Br. Robin to St. Albert's College where they were welcomed by the MSW students and faculties. They were briefed about the department and the programmes for the day. They also met the Dean of the college, Mr who asked them to have a session with the Principal Dr M L Joseph, The Administrator of Business Affairs Dr Geo Jose Fernandez, The Administrator Dr Shine Antony and the faculty from the Social Work Department. They explained about the whole process of converting the College into a relief camp by cooking food for the people and providing them with the basic necessities of food, water, clothing and medicines. There were 456 families in the camp consisting of 2552 people coming from the majorly affected areas such as Kadamudy, Kothad, Chenny and Varapura. The college acted as a collection and distribution centre which collected provisions from different sources and provided to the affected areas. The collaborated with the local hospitals and Doctors and nurses were appointed in the camps 24x7 for 7 days. They also had certain difficulties especially regarding sanitation where they did not have enough facilities so they had to rent 8 Bio-Toilets which was still insufficient but the people had to adjust. They faced challenges with having scarcity of food and water on the 6th 11

Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

day. Towards the end of the camp they received lots of help from various agencies and individuals, since people had started to move back to their own so they divided the resources and distributed them among 500 families. The NSS & NCC cells took the initiative of cleaning people's homes and the people were also provided with cleaning kits and that's when a tragedy struck. A man all alone to clean his house and when he saw the condition of the house and how he had lost everything and he decided to end his life by committing suicide. Towards the end of their visit to St. Albert's College the student social workers got the chance to interact with the faculty and students of the Social Work department. The MSW students shared about their rural camp and the various projects that they are involved in such as St. Albert’s Volunteer Executive (SAVE) and Snehapoti. SAVE is a project for the whole college where every student has to provide social services to the community either through their involvement in orphanages or old age homes. Snehapoti is a midday meal programme where students bring in their meals or donate the leftover meals from the schools and they distribute them to the homeless people on every Thursday of the week.

. Rajagiri College: When they arrived in Rajagiri College They met up with Father Johnson and they were introduced to Dr. Anish. Dr. Anish had to attend a meeting so he asked Mr. Bijou, the Development Officer of the Rajagiri Outreach Project, to orient the student social workers on the work that they do in the community. The work that they do in the field is called 'Life Lab'. They justified it by stating that every science has a lab for experiments and so, Social Work can consider the society as their lab. The project includes child-centred programme, Community health programmes, Natural resource management, child and human resource management, entrepreneurship programmes, corporate social responsibility projects, training programmes, need assessment studies and student field work activities. The student social workers also interacted with the student social workers from Rajagiri College. 12

Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

They shared their different experiences with the course, field work and about the floods. They briefed about the initiatives that were taken by the college and by the students to provide emergency aid for the people during the time of the floods.

. St. Thomas Higher Secondary School: The school is located in Malayatoor, when they reached the school they were greeted by the staff and was introduced to the Principal of the school. They had made arrangements for the student social workers to interact with the class 11 and 12 students from the science stream. The students shared their personal experience with the floods and their learning from the whole experience. The student social workers also shared their experiences in Kerala as well.  Organisational Visits: the student social workers also visited a few organisations to get a brief understanding of how organizations functions in Kerala.

. Visited the Palluruthy Relief Settlement: The Relief Settlement is a rehabilitation shelter under the Cochin Vagrancy Act. It houses vagrants and destitute. The Relief Settlement was managed by Corporation of Cochin in association with Peoples Council for Social Justice (PCSJ). It was started by the Maharaja of Cochin in the year 1941 as a camp or shelter for beggars and over the years they started taking in people who were mentally ill as well. The inmates are usually referred or brought in by the police. At present, they are housing 200 inmates (57 females and 143 males). They provide them with food, shelter, medicines and vocational training. There are also general physicians and psychiatrist who conduct checkups. The vocational training includes tailoring, weaving and candle making for women who are deemed fit to work and be reintegrated into the society.

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

. Visited Sneha Bhavan, Don Bosco Boy’s Home and the Don Bosco Psycho-social Support Centre: these institutions are all managed by Don Bosco. Sneha Bhavan is a boy’s home for boys from class 1 to class 7 was started in 1974 and they are working in collaboration with Cochin city administration. They are also in collaboration with Childline and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) who refer the cases to Don Bosco and they take care of the children who are in need of care and protection and children who are in conflict with law, as per the order of the CWC. When the boys grow older they are shifted to the Boy's Home which was started in 1978 for boys studying the high school level. Don Bosco takes care of the boys till they are settled in life. They have also opened up the Psycho-social Support Centre in 2016 to provide psycho-social support for the youths, their parents and the mentors. The Centre includes facilities such as a library, computer lab, music lab, counseling, mixed martial arts and yoga. Don Bosco in Palluruthy has 7 institutions in total that are all looking out for the well- being of the children. . Capernaum Charitable Trust: Capernaum is an organization founded by Sr. Juliet Joseph with the approval of the Archdiocese of Verapoly on 22nd August 2003 at Vaduthala of Ernakulam to protect and feed the destitute. Sr. Juliet was a member of Carmelite Congregation. In 2003, she had Cervical Disc diseases with (L) Cervical Brachial Neuralgia and due to this she had continuous severe pain and disability in the left side of her body. Because of this disability she was forced to leave the congregation in March 31, 2003. Even though her body was weak, her mind was still strong so she started taking care of the mentally weak destitute those who were handed over to her through Police Authorities or Child welfare committee state wide. Most destitute that were rescued from the streets were terribly sick while they are brought in. The gates of Capernaum Charitable Trust have always been open to receive the abandoned boys/women. Medical care for the inmates, wherever necessary, is facilitated through Sree Sudheendhra Medical Mission Hospital, Lakshmi Hospital, Lourdes Hospital, Amrutha Health Care Centre, Ernakulam. The children were not able to study in Public schools due to their ailments so in 2010 a special school for boys was started with special teachers and speech therapist to help the students lead a better life. While visiting Capernaum, the student social workers interacted with the students and they played games, sang songs, and danced and the boys were teaching the student social workers to make origami. They also spoke to the Principal, Sr. Juliet regarding their situation during the flood. When the water

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

levels started to rise they evacuated from the home and they went to a relief camp. In the relief camp they were given a separate room for their accommodation. After the waters receded they came back to the home and started to clean up and everything was restored back to normal.  The students also made use of this chance to collect some data to evaluate their mental and spiritual status after the flood using a series of questionnaires.

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Reflections:

Some of the reflections of the fieldwork were:

 It was quite an amazing experience to see the way the general public has dealt with the flood situation and its aftermath. In most cases the people have managed to bounce back in the aftermath and try to live normal lives again. They have shown remarkable resilience and courage and were able to deal with life thereafter. In many cases, it can be seen that people are struggling to deal with the situation yet they show a brave face in times of crisis.  The support system in the aftermath was quite strong, with the community helping the ones in need the most and showing support for one another. The houses were cleaned together by the youth group and community members who worked together to lift up each other’s sufferings.  The spirit of brotherhood that shone through during the tough times was remarkable and perhaps it took such a tragedy to see such a brotherhood. But when it matters most the humanity in people came out, even if they lost so much themselves. They rose up and above the petty differences and any other difference such as the difference in the religion, caste, class and other forms of stratification. At that point in time none of that mattered. Perhaps for all people, sometimes it takes a great tragedy to realize out humanity again.  The main thing to notice was the way the government does not seem to have any disaster management in place. At least not a proper one, their warning systems were grossly out of touch with the actual disaster. In one of the interaction with the local youth in Ernakulam, the youth informed that the warning systems were out of touch and inaccurate and as a result the citizens were taken by surprise when the floods hit. Instead of the 1 kilometre overflowing of the banks of the Periyar River, the water instead overflowed by at least 8 to 9 kilometres. The warning systems also were in many cases too little or too late.  Yet, in the opinion of a lot of citizens, the government had already done all it could do and after that, it simply could not have done anything else better. It was, in simple terms, unprepared grossly for such a disaster.  The opening of the dams, 38 of them, was an event that was perhaps underestimated in so far as the effect it could have on the state of Kerala. While there was an

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

evacuation in the areas nearby the dams themselves, it simply showed the government’s underestimation of the problem at the time.  The fishermen who were sometimes considered lower in the social strata were hailed as heroes and this can show us that they not justifiably lower in the society.  The government although tried to safeguard the people against the flood, yet the systems put in the place were not accurate in predicting the flood and the damages and thus the people ended suffering a lot more than was necessary. The people interacted with felt a sense of failure from the government and the entire system. Perhaps we can even say that the government was totally unprepared and thus the people were also unprepared.  There is a difference between psychotherapy and Psychological First Aid. Psychotherapy is part of a complete treatment plan for people living with psychiatric disorders or other mental health conditions that maybe caused by a disastrous event such as floods or landslides. The treatments may also be extending to their families. Psychosocial treatments include psychotherapy, psycho-education, and even vocational and social training. Psychosocial treatments can help individuals improve their functioning while lessening the negative effects of their illnesses. When it came to dealing with trauma of the flood affected people, the actual psychological aid given was mostly just Psychological First Aid. There was no other choice because of the sheer number of victims and the complexity in coordinating such a task and the more severe cases were usually referred to the hospitals for further care and follow up.  Being the first time to experience the life situation of the people who had recently been affected by flood the student social workers were lucky to get such an opportunity to spend time with these people in Kerala. They were lost and at the same time excited to lend a helping hand to the affected families.  Unity and humanity are the strengths that the people in Kerala have which helped them reduce pressure, stress, and trauma amongst the affected people by being together during their tough time and supporting one another.  There was also an experience of ‘Cultural shock’ when the student social workers observed certain instances which were considered to be totally different from their own native place. Segregation of genders was very common especially in public places such as the bus or church. Women and men were seen sitting separately in the bus, they had

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

seats assigned for men, women and the elderly and neither an aged person be it a man or a woman would sit in any free seat if it was not assigned to them.  Culture is strongly rooted in every community, even in Kerala there is a vast diversity of traditional dances, songs and art forms which the student social workers were extremely privileged to experience and at times perform along with the people.  The student social workers felt nothing more than generosity, kindness, and being humble which led to unity amongst them and brought about the betterment for the society. Developing such personalities in one self and in whatever we are doing will lead us to living a positive life with a positive outcome.

SUGGESTIONS

If a similar situation would take place sometime in the near future, the student social workers would like to include the following suggestions:-

 A periodical seminars on disaster management in the University and especially in Social work department will be a great help for students to get ready for any eventuality in the future..  Mock drills and classes on disaster management should be facilitated to make students more aware and prepared for similar situation.  More manual works such as cleaning and building in an area affected by calamities would also help the students to enhance their social commitment.

CONCLUSION

The Student social worker had a beautiful opportunity to get into the life situation of affected people and get involve with the help of our respected Vice-Chancellor and the faculty members of Social work department and also the student of Assam Don Bosco University from both the campus i.e. Azara and Tapesia.

Last but not the least the student social worker would like to take this opportunity to thanks all the guides from Kerala for their immense support and initiative for guiding us throughout our stay, without which this fieldwork would not have been successful. Thus, the student social worker have successfully concluded the continuous fieldwork in Kerala.

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

PHOTO GALLERY

The volunteers with field supervisor together with Rector and Administrator of

Don Bosco Vaduthala

No. Names of the Participants 3rd Age Gender MSW students

1. Lambinus Raliang 24 M

2. Deisy Flora Thongnibah 23 F

3. Fidalis Ngamlai 26 F

4. George Kerry Sunn 22 M

5. Pranju Pushkar 24 M

6. Kaberi Rajkonwar 23 F

7. Ngepkhao S Konyak 23 F

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

8. Chenmiki Laloo 23 M

9. Sengrik M Marak 23 M

10. Daphisha Gabriela Pyngrope 23 F

11. Preeti Hatibaruah 22 F

Field Supervisor: Fr. Johnson K.P. sdb

Meeting with the Vice Chancellor

Travelling to Kerala

A Visit to Flood affected areas in Payyampally, Wayanad District

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Visit the landslide affected areas of Pandi Kadavu, Thirunelli and Pancharakolly in Wayanad District

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Fund distribution in Wayanad district and Ernakulam district

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Rural Camp Activities

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Visit Shanti Bhawan Old Age Home

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Cleaning Drive

Manual Work in repairing the Road

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Cultural Event

Street Play

Ecological Trekking

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

School Outreach Programme

Workshops

Institutional Visits 29

Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Visiting Flood affected areas in Ernakulam District

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Thanks Giving Programme

Manual Work in helping the Flood affected family

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

Special Thanks to:

1. Fr. Dr. Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor of ADBU 2. Students and faculty Assam Don Bosco University, Tapesia and Azara Campus 3. Dr. Lukose PJ HOD of Department of Social Work 4. Sir Victor Narzary 5. Fr. Johnson K.P. 6. Dr. Jacob Islary 7. Sir Dominic PT 8. Miss Ainamlin Dkhar 9. Miss Bibha Rani Swargiary 10. Fr. Sojan 11. Fr. Thomas 12. Fr. Jose 13. Fr. Roy 14. Fr. Shino 15. Fr. Paulson 16. Fr. Josh 17. Fr. Sebastian 18. Brother Robin 19. Fr. Francis 20. Somya and Tanya 21. MSW and BSW 1st semester, Don Bosco College Sultan Bathery 22. Kadumeni St. Mary’s Parish 23. Panchayat Ward Members of Kadumeni Village 24. Jai Kerala 25. Mr. Pavin Kumar 26. Mr. Jorji Gabriel 27. Mr. Vishal 28. Mr. Tinku 29. St. Albert’s College 30. Rajagiri College School of Social Sciences 31. Capernaum Charitable Trust 32. Palluruthy Relief Settlement

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Flood Relief Response Programmes in Kerala by MSW students of ADBU 2018

33. Sneha Bhavan 34. Don Bosco Boy’s Home Palluruthy 35. Don Bosco Sultan Bathery 36. Don Bosco Vaduthala 37. The people of Kadumeni 38. People of Vaduthala

Recoded by Daphisha Gabriela Pyngrope

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