EFICOR EFICOR’s Response to Leh Flash Floods – Update 3 27th August 2010 From the Executive Director EFICOR, over our 40 years of history, has responded to many emergencies. Our partners worldwide have supported us as we have responded to the needs of many thousands of people affected by disaster. Our response to the devastation caused by the cloud burst and the subsequent floods in Ladakh has been similar. The EFICOR team have worked hard to respond to the needs supported by many partners across the world who have made it possible for us to respond. Trip to Leh I was able to travel to Leh as part of the emergency response team to hand over the first lot of relief materials. My trip to Leh was preceded by a review of our relief response at the head office. Mr. Sanjeev K Bhanja (Director – Programmes) and Mr. Ramesh Babu (Manager – Direct Projects) returned on Tuesday (August 24, 2010) from Leh after assessing the present need of the families and having discussions with government officials and church leaders. Based on the need assessment EFICOR finalized the relief kit and beneficiaries in and around Leh. As per the need assessment, EFICOR decided to focus more on women and childrenwhile providing relief assistance. The relief kit for women consists of 2 pieces of Goncha (traditional dress worn by women during winter), 2 sets of cloth to stitch Salwar suit and ‘dignity’ kits (toiletries and hygiene items). For children, the relief kit consists of Woollen Socks, Schoolbags, Sweaters and Supplementary Food packets (nutrition), and for men Jackets. Some of the common goods being provided to the families are Torch lights, Mattresses, and Petromax type gas lights (only for the families residing in the hill). This relief kit will be given for 500 Ladakhi families. The beneficiary Ladakhi families were identified by the team of Rev. Elijah Gergan of Moravian Institution and Government officials. Apart from that 100 Nepali migrants will be supported with dry food ration e.g. rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, pulses and salt. These people were identified with the help of Mr. Solomon, a local Christian, a local Nepalese and our team during the visit to the affected villages. On my arrival at Ladakh, I was warned that the area has 30% less oxygen in the atmosphere, because of which one must avoid exertion especially on a short trip. Normally a person has to rest for 24 to 36 hours after arriving in Ladakh to get accustomed to the atmosphere. After landing in Ladakh at 6.40am I was able to rest before facing the gruelling day schedule. Initiation of relief distribution Rev. Elijah and I handed over the relief kit to Mrs. SkalzangThe first distribution on 27 Aug was started with prayer by Rev. Elijah Gergan of Moravian Institution. Rev. Elijah and I handed over the relief kit to Mrs. Skalzang Youdol Chring in one of the worst affected village called Taru of Leh district. We distributed Gas light and Goncha to six families identified in Taru village. Rev Elijah leading in prayer before relief distribution (above) In the afternoon, after loading the food materials in a small van we reached Choglamsar and Shey and distributed food rations to 19 Nepali migrants whose rented houses were washed way in the floods and provided them with 20 kg of Rev Elijah handing over a relief kit rice, 15 kg of wheat, five kilos of dal to Mrs Chring(above) (lentils), one litre of oil and one packet of salt. This is estimated to last for over a month. These families will be returning to Nepal by mid October 2010. Networking – Meeting with church leaders, officials and NGOs The team from EFICOR had discussion with Rev. Elijah Gergan at his office regarding identification of needs and future plans. Rev. Gergan has offered his school premises to be used for storage of relief items. The team also met with Mr. Solomon to discuss about the relief distribution for Nepali people. The team had discussion with Mr. Chering Dorjay, the Chief Executive Officer of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, to get his feedback. The discussion was focused on present need, long term focus and role of NGOs and the government. One strong observation that emerged during our discussion was that of livelihood issues for future intervention. EFICOR continues to be a part of the national and local NGO coordination meetings as part of the Sphere India network sharing information with them Mr Chering Dorjay (centre) with and being involved in planning. EFICOR team The team also met with Mr. Francis from CASA who are also involved in providing relief kits to the villagers. It was decided that EFICOR and CASA will share information on relief activities to avoid duplication. It was noted that the relief kit of CASA and EFICOR were entirely different except for the dignity kit. The team also had dinner with staff from Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) who were involved in Trauma Counselling. They are training the hospital staff and teachers to counsel people affected by the EFICOR team with EHA team disaster. EFICOR and EHA will also plan together for future response. Immediate work and plans The team is training local volunteers (12 volunteers including 3 Nepalese including 2 women) to be involved in the relief operation along with the relief team. The team is also waiting for the relief materials to arrive from Delhi. The team has procured Goncha locally. The team in Delhi has already procured Salwar suit material, School bags, Sweaters, Jackets and Torchlight which have been packed and booked for airlifting. Part of the relief materials reached Leh on Sunday (August 29, 2010) and the rest of the materials are expected to arrive by Monday (August 30, 2010). Packing of the items is in progress and 97 relief kits are ready for distribution. On Monday (August 30, 2010) the team will distribute relief materials to 43 families at Sabu village. Mattresses are not available in the local market at Leh. The team is trying to procure the same from Srinagar which is about 450 kms from Leh. During the Sunday Service of the Moravian Church, Mr. Ramesh Babu was given opportunity to share about EFICOR’s work and its future plans. Rev. Gergen appreciated EFICOR for its work and acknowledged that EFICOR is an organization which works along with the churches. Future mapping EFICOR is looking into the possibility of long term intervention in the area of livelihood. This is a need expressed by the community, government officials and church leaders. This will include land reclamation, livestock, small businesses, children-focused programmes and advocacy. It was informed that many of the Nepalese and Biharis are not accounted for in the missing list as the contractors who have hired them are not giving the exact numbers. A proper research is required so that the families who have lost their dear ones can get appropriate compensation. The government is willing to provide compensation for all the people who have died if proper evidence is produced. This is a challenge which EFICOR can also take up as EFICOR has an advantage of having development projects in Bihar which can facilitate in this process. Conclusion During the conversation with Mr. Chering Dorjay the Chief Executive Officer of Ladakh, he mentioned that the Ladakhis protected India during the fight with other forces when they invaded India and it is the time for the rest of India to rise and stand with the Ladakhi. This also reminded me of our response to Jesus’ love which we have received, to be shared both in word and deed. I hope that the church will rise up to meet the need of the Ladakh people who are affected by the disaster. Lighting the lives of the people Punchok Yanskit Lalumpa lives in Taru village with her husband and two boys. The family does not possess any land. They are agricultural labourers. The first son who is 18 years old works as agricultural labourer. The second son is in 10th standard. On the night of 5th August they received information from Nimu village (located about 10 kms from the village at a higher altitude) that water was rushing towards their village. They picked up whatever they could and ran to higher ground before the water hit their village. They were saved but they lost their whole house to the gushing water. At present her family is living in a tent which they received from the army. They live with uncertainty of when the army would take it back. They have received ration comprising 50 kgs of rice and 2 litres of oil from government and two blankets from a local NGO. The family received two sets of Goncha (traditional dress of women) and a gas light as part of the first lot of relief distribution from EFICOR. Mrs. Lalumpa said, “Yeh hamareliye bahuth jarurath ka cheez hey” (These are essential things for us) which indicates the need of the affected people. We also showed Mrs. Chiring how to use the gaslight. The lighting of the gas light also symbolized for me the hope which we are illuminating in their lives. EFICOR will also provide the family with 2 sets of cloth to stitch Salwar suit, ‘dignity’ kits, Woollen socks, Schoolbags, Sweaters, Supplementary food packets (nutrition), Jackets, Torch lights and Mattresses. For more details, contact Mr Sanjeev Bhanja, Director-Programmes, EFICOR, Mobile :9910398604 Click on the following url, to know how you can make your donations http://www.eficor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid =66 For further details, please contact Sheila George, Manager-Publicity, Mobile :09810986890 .