Food Distribution

Home School Kits Provisions Distribution Distribution

CHENNAI FLOOD RELIEF OPERATIONS 2015

A Report on Sri Arunodayam’s Involvement November 14, 2015 to January 05, 2016

Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust, 35, Sivananda Nagar, Kolathur, – 600099 (TN), www.sriarunodayam.org # 9444915803 [email protected]

A Background

Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust is a registered organisation that works for the well- being of mentally challenged children who have been abandoned by their families. Opened in 2002, the organization was founded on firm humanitarian values of love, care, and tireless service, enabling it to handle any humanitarian crises as they arise.

Although Sri Arunodayam’s main focus is on abandoned, mentally challenged children, it could not turn its eyes away from the terrible plight of other suffering people, especially during the recent floods in Chennai.

And so, armed with a heart for action, Sri Arunodayam opened its doors to all during this critical period, and together with the help of compassionate donors and volunteers, set about making an impact in the lives of those affected.

After the first ten days of relief work, Good Shepherd School, joined hands with Sri Arunodayam and more than 50,000 meals, 2,000 school kits and 5,000 ration kits were distributed in the surrounding areas.

Through the effective use of Social Media, Sri Arunodayam was able to reach a global audience, which helped garner resources within a short time. The text in italics in this report are excerpts from the posts made on Facebook. (For more information and pictures on this entire operation, please visit our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/iyyappan.subramaniyan.73)

This report chronologically describes the relief work that was spearheaded by Sri Arunodayam and its volunteer groups.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] How it all began…

The northeast monsoon was late in but when it did show up, nothing could have prepared the people of Chennai for a disaster of such epic proportions!

On the 9th of November 2015 the heavy rains began. The roads in Sivananda Nagar - where Sri Arunodayam has its office and Girls Home – were flooded. We decided to move the girls and the infants to a safer place - our facility at Madanankuppam.

Little did we know that we were embarking on a long journey of relief work that went well beyond the care of our children at Sri Arunodayam.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] Flood Relief Operations - Phase I (Basic Needs)

14 November 2015

On this day, we witnessed the first signs of flood fury in the Kolathur area - the locality where Sri Arunodayam operates. Iyyappan Subramaniyan (Founder) posted the following message on Facebook:

There are many families in and around Kolathur that are badly affected by the heavy rains and are in need of food. I want to help these families by providing them with meals from tomorrow. For this, I need rice, dhal, vegetables, salt, and masala items to be able to cater for meals for around 500 people. I request you to help by donating the provisions, which I will collect from your homes. Please contact me on 9444915803 for more information. Thank You.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 15 November 2015

 This humble request was answered by several donors who provided groceries, vegetables, money, and other resources. Quite a number of them turned up at our doorstep volunteering to prepare, cook, and distribute the food. Thus, the Food Distribution activity commenced with lunch on the 15th of November 2015.  Over the next few days this grew to preparing and distributing all three meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - and travelling to locations where people were in dire need of food.

Food distribution at Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kolathur. Thank you so much for your support. We provided lunch for 250 people today. We are preparing food for the people of Thirumal Nagar now. Distribution will start at 5 pm. Do join us if you are anywhere near Kolathur and .

Food distributed to the people of Thirumal Nagar (Kolathur). Thank you so much, friends, for your timely support. Today, we provided food for more than 500 people who were badly affected by the rain. I would like to continue food distribution for the next 5 days, so please help again by donating provisions. We need rice, dhal, oil, ghee, red chillies, tamarind, sambar powder, salt, and vegetables like carrots, beans, potatoes, brinjals, drumsticks and green chillies.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 16 and 17 November 2015

 We distributed food to the residents of Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Kolathur.  Sri Arunodayam received calls from Jeeva Nagar requesting for food. We promised to send them breakfast on the 18th.  Iyyappan posted a request on Facebook, saying: If you are near Vyasarpadi Jeeva, please help people with food today.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 18 November 2015

 In SIDCO Nagar and in some places near ICF () there was no water, electricity, or food available for three days. With the support of donors, we provided sambar rice and vegetable biriyani to the people in these areas.  Iyyappan's Facebook post that day: Anybody interested in volunteering or sponsoring? Please get in touch with us.

And the volunteers kept pouring in…

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 19 November 2015

 Food was distributed to the people living in Sathankadu, . Today's food was prepared at Freedom Bakery by the inmates of Prison.

 Sri Arunodayam received relief material from the Chennai Rain Relief (CRR) team. The mats and drinking water bottles were distributed the next day at SIDCO Nagar.

 Sri Arunodayam’s kitchen team prepared food for distribution in Kolathur, SIDCO Nagar, and .

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 20 November 2015

 Food and water were distributed to people who took refuge in the Thirukandalam (Ellapuram Ondrium) Relief Camp.

 Food, plastic mats, bedsheets, and water were distributed among families living in Kannagi Nagar.

 Breakfast was distributed to people in Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar.

 Homemade idly and sambar were also prepared by our donors.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 21 and 22 November 2015

 Food was distributed to the people of Kannagi Nagar and Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar.

 Food, water, bedsheets and plastic mats were distributed to the gypsy communities living in Annaikattu at Thamaripaakam.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 23 and 24 November 2015

 Food was distributed to the people of Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar.

 The distribution was facilitated by Good Shepherd School, Nungambakkam

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 27 November 2015

 Bread and water were distributed to Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar by the employees of Bank of Baroda.  Bedsheets, plastic mats, and drinking water were distributed to 315 families in Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Kolathur.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 27 November 2015

The Commissioner of the Corporation of Chennai was very impressed with the relief work being carried out by Sri Arunodayam and Good Shepherd School. The Corporation invited the team to make a presentation during its Zonal Officers Meeting on the 27th November. The relief work was appreciated by all the officers. To avoid work duplication, it was agreed that we work in co-ordination with the Corporation for the next phase of relief operations. The encouragement and support we received was good motivation for us.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 28 and 29 November 2015

 Volunteers from Good Shepherd School and Sri Arunodayam visited Ellaikudi, TV Nallore and Samathuvapuram in Cuddalore District, and distributed bedsheets, mats, rice, clothes, vessels, bread and biscuits to more than 500 families.  Students from Women's Christian College and School of Excellence in Law helped us with the distribution.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 02 December 2015

 Food was distributed in Arani and Periyapalayam areas.

 The Chennai Rain Relief 2015 Control Room co-ordinated the rescue of thousands of people and served as a hub to connect them with relief camps and medical care centers.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 3 December 2015

 Food was distributed to the people living on the banks of the Kosasai River near Thirukandalam Village, Thiruvallur District.

 In addition, food was distributed to more than 4000 people in the following areas: Kannagi Nagar and Bharath Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kolathur, Naravaarkuppan, and Redhills; and in Thiruvallur District: Kannigaiper, Thirukandalam, and near Thirukandalam Village.

 Iyyappan posted a request on Facebook requesting for bottled drinking water, as people were in dire need of safe drinking water.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 4 December 2015

 Iyyappan posted helpline numbers on Facebook to rescue stranded or missing children.  Food and water were distributed to more than 5000 people in the following areas: In Chennai - Surapallam MGR Nagar, near - Naravaarkuppam in Redhills, and in Thiruvallur - Manjankarnai, Kannigaiper, Thirukandalam and Anna Nagar near Thirukandalam village.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 5 December 2015

 Sri Arunodayam’s team reached out to eight areas in Chennai and Thiruvallur Districts and distributed food, water, and biscuits to 4700 people. With the support of individuals and organizations across the world, the relief work continues...

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 7 December 2015

 900 portions of lunch and dinner, 900 water bottles, and fresh and toned milk were distributed in Pencil Factory, Katbada and IOC.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 7 December 2015

 Sri Arunodayam provided food and water to 4400 people in North Chennai and Thiruvallur districts.  The areas covered included: Britons Road and New Venkateshapuram Main Road in Puliyanthope, Village, Gnayaru Village, Thiruvallur Nagar in Kolathur, Annai Sathiya Nagar in Rettaieri, SIDCO Nagar in , Udavi Orphanage in , Bhagavathi Amman Kovil Street in Kolathur, and Mint Area

 Relief material was received, sorted, packed, and arranged for distribution at Sri Arunodayam.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 8 December 2015

 Food, water and bread were distributed in Brindavan Thamarai Nagar near Surapet, Ambethkar Nagar in Kolathur, Athipet, Vettuvankeni, Thiruvottriyur and Kosappur Villages.

 Volunteers distributed relief material in Thiruvottriyur.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 9 December 2015

 Food, water, and bread were distributed in Rallapadi Tribals in Periyapalam, Maduranthagam lake areas, Manali new town, Vinoba Nagar, Rajaji Nagar near Thiruvottriyur, and Kannigapuram in Puliyanthope.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] Flood Relief Operations - Phase II (Provision Kits)

10 December 2015

 Rice, dhal, oil and biscuits were distributed to 125 families in Manjankarnai Village near Periyapalayam.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 11 December 2015

 The older children and adult residents of Sri Arunodayam assisted the staff in packing the Ration Kits! These children are truly special in every way!  The Ration Kits contained rice, dhal, oil, salt, and sugar. In addition to the kits, plastic mats were distributed to 500 families living in Bhuvanagiri near Chidambaram.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 12 December 2015

 A volunteer collected water bottles, biscuits, milk powder, bedsheets, towels, bread, napkins, mosquito coils, new shirts, and cloth bags and distributed these materials in Cuddalore District with the help of Sri Arunodayam’s team.

 Sri Arunodayam and Good Shepherd School, Nungambakkam, jointly distributed relief material to the most affected people in Bhuvanagiri near Chidambaram, Cuddalore District.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 13 December 2015

 150 Ration Kits were distributed to the residents of Kannagi Street, in Kolathur.

14 December 2015  Ration Kits were distributed to 211 families in Annai Sathiya Nagar, Rettaieri in Kolathur.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 15 December 2015

 Sri Arunodayam’s team went to Uthiramerur, a Taluk in Kancheepuram District, near Chennai. The villages surrounding this block are Mallikapuram, Marutham, Karuveppampoondi, MGR Nagar and Maruthuvambadi.  A total of 402 families reside here and all of them are daily wage labourers. The floods had severely affected these people and they were really happy to receive Ration Kits containing rice, dal, oil and spices.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 16 December 2015  Ration Kits were distributed to 265 families in Bagavathi Amman Street and Odaikarai Vinayagar Kovil Street in Kolathur.

17 December 2015  Provision Kits were distributed to 280 families in Balaji Nagar, Kolathur.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 18 December 2015

 Sri Arunodayam’s Team, and Good Shepherd School distributed Provision Kits to 600 families in Murukanchery, Mulli, Ulunthamangalam, Arcot, Vedal, Veeranakunnam, Valarprai and Munnuthukuppam Villages. These villages are located near .  Most of these people have lost their homes and cattle, and suffered huge crop damage due to the floods.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 24 December 2015

 For the past 20 years, 15 Irular families have been residing in Melsempadu Village near Periyapalayam. They were badly affected and their homes destroyed.  We distributed Kits containing plastic mats, bedsheets, towels, and provisions.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 27 December 2015

 We distributed Provision Kits, plastic mats and bedsheets to 120 visually challenged and 10 physically challenged families residing in the flood affected settlements of Chennai and Thiruvallur Districts.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 2 January 2016

 Sri Arunodayam’s Team and the Good Shepherd Team visited Melsembedu village once again. As there is no electricity in this village, the team distributed solar lamps and tarpaulin sheets to all the families.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 5 January 2016

 Provision Kits were distributed to 360 families at Bharat Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Kolathur, which was badly affected by the floods.

 Provision Kits were also distributed to 50 visually challenged families.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 31 January 2016

 Stoves were distributed to 100 families in Kolathur.

19 February 2016

 Stoves were distributed to 200 gypsy families in Red Hills.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]

Flood Relief Operations - Phase III (School Kits)

15 December 2015

 This primary school in Madanankuppam opened on the 14th December after a hiatus of 33 days. Around 78 children study here. Sri Arunodayam’s Team distributed Kits - each containing a school bag, a bottle of water, a biscuit packet, and a banana, to the children. These children come from the flood affected settlements in and around the area.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 16 December 2015

 Sri Arunodayam’s Team reached out to another needy School in Ayanambakkam. This is a Government Primary School where 106 children study across Classes I - 5. They live nearby and their parents are mostly daily wage labourers. This area suffered much damage due to the floods and continues to be waterlogged. The school premises, unfortunately, was inundated as well but it decided to re-open. So classes are being conducted at the nearby Library. Sri Arunodayam provided school bags, stationery and biscuits to the 106 children.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 17 December 2015  We distributed school bags, stationery, and biscuits to 260 children at Surapet Government Primary School in Chennai.

23 December 2015  School bags, stationery, and biscuits were distributed to 155 children studying in the Villivakkam Primary School, Thiruvallur District.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 2 January 2016  School bags and stationery were distributed to 185 students in Kathervedu and Sembedu Villages in Thiruvallur District. These villages were heavily affected by the floods.

5 January 2016  School bags were distributed to 50 visually challenged families.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 2 March 2016  School Kits were distributed to 100 children at Manchankarnai Primary School near Periyar Pallayam.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] They made it happen...

The relief work, which commenced on the 14th of November 2015 began small but grew into one gigantic service operation. It was a new and different experience for us each day! The places, the people, and the sharing taught us many lessons, helping us enjoy the experience of being truly humane. Sri Arunodayam’s Team distributed all the relief materials received, to the most critically affected. While the above pages illustrate our relief operations in detail, the ones below are an ode to those who so generously donated in cash and kind and who actually made it all happen! We take this opportunity to thank each of our donors who supported us in every possible way. We believe that their benevolence will continue to light up the lives of those who were affected.

INDIVIDUAL DONORS 1 Ms. Aarthi Harna 2 Mrs. Aarthi Madhusudanan 3 Mr. Anand & Friends, Australia 4 Mr. Anand Padmanaban, Chennai 5 Mr. Anand Vaishnav Egattur 6 Mr. Anandha Kormath Rajagopalan, USA 7 Mr. Arun kumar 8 Mr. Balaje Ramachandran, Chennai 9 Mr. Balachandar, Chennai 10 Ms. Bagyalakshmi, Chennai 11 Ms. Bhavani, Chennai 12 Mr. Bhabatosh 13 Mr. Biharilal, Chennai

14 Mr. Chenchu Ramaiah Vadla, Andhra Pradesh. 15 Ms. Deepa, Chennai 16 Ms. Deepa Arvind 17 Mr. Deepak Raj, Chennai

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 18 Mr. Deepak Yashwanth 19 Mr. Divesh Aiya, Chennai 20 Mr. Gandhi.R, Chennai 21 Mr.Ganesh Santhanam 22 Ms. Garima Rawat, Pune 23 Ms. Gayathri 24 Ms. Gayathri, Chennai 25 Ms. Geethanjali 26 Mr. Govindarajan, Chennai 27 Mr. Gowri Shankar.S 28 Mr. Guruprasad L, Chennai 29 Ms. Janani, Chennai 30 Mrs. Jayashree Kannan, Chennai 31 Mr. Jolly Ghatak 32 Ms. Jyothi, Chennai

33 Mr. Karthick Govind, USA 34 Mr. Karthic Anbu, Salem 35 Mrs. Kavitha Rajaram, Chennai 36 Mrs. Ln. Kalamathy 37 Mr. Krishna Mohanraj Ravuri, Telungana 38 Ms. Kirti Fomra, Chennai 39 Mr. Lakshmanan 40 Mrs. Latha Subramaniyan 41 Mr. Madhavan, Chennai 42 Mr. Mahadevan – Oriental Cuisines 43 Maiko Okada 44 Mrs. Malarvizhi 45 Mr. Manoj, Chennai 46 Ms. Mareli Roy, Chennai 47 Ms. Mini Joseph, USA 48 Mr. Mithesh M, Chennai

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 49 Mr. Muralidharan P, Chennai 50 Mrs. Mythili Padmanaban 51 Mr. Nagaraj Vairam, Chennai 52 Mr. Nagarajan K, Chennai 53 Ms. Nilab, Germany 54 Mr. Padhu Srinivasan, Chennai 55 Mrs. Padma Anand, Chennai 56 Mr. Parameshwaran, Chennai 57 Mrs. Pavithra Kishore – & Nathella Family, Chennai 58 Mr. Peter, Chennai 59 Mr. Prabhu Kumar, Chennai 60 Mr. Prabhuram.P.R, Chennai 61 Mr. Prakasam Anand, Chennai 62 Mr. Prakash, Chennai 63 Mr. Ragu Ganesan, Trichy 64 Mr. Ramadurai P.K, Pune 65 Mr. Ramamurthy, Chennai 66 Mr. Ramasamy T 67 Mr. Ramji Subramanian, Australia 68 Ms. Ramya, Chennai 69 Mrs. Ramya Murai, Chennai 70 Mr. Ramya Venkatraman, Chennai 71 Mrs. Rinku Mecheri 72 Mr. Roshan, Chennai 73 Mrs. Ln. Radharani, Chennai 74 Mr. Sanjiv Kumar, Chennai 75 Mrs. Sasi rekha Natarajan 76 Ms. Sathyakumari K 77 Mrs. Sayeeshwari Raja, Chennai 78 Inspector Selvakumar & Family 79 Mr. Sendhil Manian

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] 80 Mr. Senthil Kumar, Chennai 81 Mr. Shankar T, Chennai 82 Mr. Shanmuga Sethu, Chennai 83 Mrs. Shyamala Ashok, Chennai 84 Mr. Sitheek Usman M, Chennai 85 Ms. Sowmya Simhan, Chennai 86 Mr. Sriganesh, Mumbai 87 Mr. Sri Giriprasath.K.S, Chennai 88 Mr. Sri Ram T, Chennai 89 Mr. Sudhakar Govindasamy & Friends, USA 90 Mrs. Sujatha Sundar, Chennai 91 Mrs. Sunita Narayanan, Chennai 92 Mr. Tamil Selvan, Chennai 93 Mr. Trinath, Chennai 94 Ms. Vaishnavi Jeyakumar, Chennai 95 Mr. Valluru Sundarsana 96 Mrs. Vandana Gopikumar, Chennai 97 Mr. Velshankar.B Thoothukudi 98 Mr. N. Venkat Krishnan 99 Mr. Vijay Bhaskaran 100 Mr. Vimal Raj.B

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected] INSTITUTIONAL DONORS

1 Ababil Health Care Pvt .Ltd., Chennai

2 Asia Tunnelling & Construction Pvt. Ltd.

3 AV Masala Foods Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore

4 Bhoomika Trust, Chennai

5 BIG-FM Listeners, Chennai

6 Caring Souls Trust, Chennai

7 Chennai Rain Relief 2015 Team

8 Dishaa Charitable Trust, USA

9 Give India, Mumbai

Good Shepherd Matric HR Sec School, Nungambakkam, 10 Chennai

11 Lions Club of Chennai - Golden Roses, Chennai

12 Lucas-TVS, Chennai

13 Marikani Store, Chennai

15 Teknomec, Chennai

16 Thirumal Nagar Residents Welfare Association, Chennai

17 Toy Bank, Mumbai

18 United Way of Chennai

19 Valluvan Tamil Academy, USA

20 Oriental Cuisines

Edited by Althea D’Sylva for Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust.

www.sriarunodayam.org [email protected]