Thursday, September 18, 2008

Third Team of DSW volunteers reached Saharsa

The third team of volunteers along with the rest of the department undertook massive collection of relief materials and has developed a road map to streamline the relief operations and also lay foundation for damage assessment. Mr. Avtar, faculty, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, is leading the team, which reached Saharsa on 17th September 2008. The team includes six volunteers from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, Delhi University namely – Mr. Avadh, Mr. Devbrata, Mr. Ashutosh, Mr. Tabish, Mr. Shantanu, and Mr. Akshay who will work with the DSW volunteers namely – Mr. Anil Minz, Mr. Anil Mathew, Mr. Albinus and Mr. Tejeswar along with a non-teaching member, Mr. Rajesh Singh Rana. The team 3 has taken along with them a relief material of worth Rs. 20 lacs.

Activities Undertaken by TEAM 2, DSW

Team 2 from Department of Social Work was headed by Mr. Farrukh Faheem, faculty, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar College, University of Delhi. The team consisted of six students namely – Mr. Ankit, Mr. Manish Kumar, Mr Nikhil, Mr. Rohit, Mr. Vinay, and Mr. Vivek and a non-teaching member, Mr. Amarjeet. They arrived at the base camp on 8th September 2008 and took over the operations from team 1. The team along with them took relief materials of worth Rs. 25 lacs. After an extensive one visit to all the sites identified by team 1for intervention, the team 2 carefully laid down their plan of action and mobilized the resources to intervene in the following fields:

  • To meet the immediate health requirement of the victims at the point of their rescue at Bhutahi Baadh, Triveniganj Block.
  • To cater to the needs of the marooned people on the embankment.
  • To undertake participatory methods to identify the families requiring immediate attention on health issues and other basic needs.
  • To take measures to stop the rising cases of diarrohoea and enteric fever.
  • Further need assessment was done taking family as a unit for intervention and as per that 2500 families with pregnant women, infant, old persons and persons with disabilities were identified from a stretch of victims comprising of the weakest sections. It laid down the road which will eventually lead to the final rehabilitation of the families.
  • The team from Department of Social Work became the first relief providers to the victims in Dinapatti village wading through 12 kms of flood water they attended to 287 patients on the very first day and distributed relief material. Thus proving right the slogan – “We make the road by walking…”
  • Simultaneously, in Dafarka in Bhutahi Baandh we became the first team to establish a health centre. It is now catering to a population of 4 out of the 12 panchayats around that area.
  • A mobile medical unit with support from HelpAge is fully operational at Patarghat in Sonbarsa.
  • All the medical operations are facilitated by our DSW volunteers with the help of a medical team led by Dr. Saket.
  • Based on their need assessment, the team 2 has started distributing the relief material to the identified families and has been applauded by the Indian army and CISF personnel stationed in the area. Currently we can claim that the medical services provided by the department in association with its partners is the only banner which is providing health services on a regular basis at multiple sites. No other agency is providing health services in the interior most areas.

Activities Undertaken by TEAM 1, DSW

Team 1 from Department of Social Work was headed by Dr. Manoj K Jha, Field Work Director, DSW. It consisted of six social students namely – Mr. Kaivalya, Mr. Digvijoy, Mr. Rajeev, Mr. Santonu, Mr. Pushpam and Mr. Udai, and a non-teaching member, Mr. Brijraj.

Team 1 with relief materials of worth Rs 15 lacs reached Saharsa on 2nd September 2008 and on that very day a base camp was set up at Saharsa. The team undertook rapid assessment of almost all the flood affected areas of Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura for two days. It also analysed the relief work going on in Saharsa which has emerged as an ‘island of hope’ for millions rendered homeless. Finally an area known as Bhutahi Baandh was identified for the intervention.

Team 1 intervened at three levels:
  1. Providing relief materials to the women (esp. pregnant women, children and elderly citizens at the point of rescue at Bhutahi Baandh. They were given ORS, biscuits, torches and other relief materials.
  2. Running a mobile medical unit (MMU) at Majhouva, Madhepura. The medical unit was catering to all water-borne diseases, which include viral infections, stomach ailments and sores arising out of walking in the water.
  3. Undertaking a participatory need assessment at Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura. The emphasis was given to the needs of women, esp. pregnant and women with infants, old persons, physically challenged and the weaker sections.

The team also carried out awareness campaigns in the relief camps in Saharsa to prevent epidemics in the town already hosting twice its own population. The team members also helped local administrative bodies to stream line the relief distribution process and made practical suggestions to ensure that it reaches to all the sections of the society.
Darkness and Hunger are the biggest threats to the victims of the one of the biggest man-made disasters this nation has ever seen. The Department of Social Work is the only one which could understand and act by providing infant food to the lactating mothers who are incapable of breast-feeding their child and torches to fight the enemies of the night like poisonous water snakes. These efforts have been applauded by all the agencies including the state and media operating in the area.

Primary Health Centre at Bhutahi Bandh: A Ray of Hope for Many

Field Update 18th Sep '08

After the gloomy scenes that have dominated our psyche for the past many days, this update brings in something to smile about. The functioning of the Primary Health Centre at Bhutahi Bandh in a smooth way brings in a sense of achievement, a sense of making a dent in this vast expanse of destruction and death. Hundreds of people are patiently queuing up every day to be examined by one of the four doctors. Initially it was estimated that the Centre would cater to the needs of 5000-7000 people but at present it is providing services to more than 40,000 people. The Centre is filling up the wide gap left by the absence of any kind of medical facilities in the vicinity. Dr. Jha who was part of the first team and is back on the field with the third team reiterates the fact that, “...earlier the State was missing but now the State is callously missing.... particularly medicinal intervention, which has become the nucleus of all other intervention.” After losing their livelihood, their home, and their hearth what was left with them was their personal health which is now at stake and this has prioritised the need for medical intervention. Similar kinds of ailments are surfacing, like ear infection which can be traced to the use of contaminated water. The volunteers are also doing a commendable job and are being assisted by the TISS volunteers in running the show smoothly. Looking at the pattern of health complaints that the medicos are confronting in the area, demand for a fresh list of medicines have been communicated. These include:

  • Iron Folic Acid Tablets
  • Cough Syrup
  • 2nd and 3rd generation antibiotics
  • Anti-fungal Cream
  • Steroid + Antibiotic Cream
  • Eye and Ear Drops like Tearplus, Lubrigel, Mesol etc.
  • Calcium Tablets
  • Multi Vitamin Syrup
  • Albendazole (syrup and tablets)
  • Apart from medicines, one other item that is the need of the hour is 20-litre plastic buckets, for purifying water.