Kolkata Ravaged by Cyclone Amphan
Thousands of trees were uprooted, electricity and telephone lines brought down and houses flattened. Many roads and houses were flooded and residents left without electricity for days.
Our widows and their families are some of the most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. They have no protection and many of their homes are makeshift huts. When it rains heavily there is no drainage system and they are subject to flooding. Following the cyclone, it has been heartbreaking to see their loss with many of their homes flooded, flattened by uprooted trees, walls collapsed or washed away, or roofs blown off.
Their huts may not look like much but it is their home and devastating none the less.
Their home is all they have, holding their meagre possessions.
And for many they do not know how they will even begin to rebuild.
Their situation is tough. With the COVID-19 lockdown of India, like most countries in this world, they no longer have any income source.
Their situation is such, that if they do not work or beg they do not eat and there is no social security benefit available to see them through this time.
Now to compound these additional hardships they have been hit by a cyclone.
"I have never seen such a storm in my life "
Our first response has been to provide food packs as our families are hungry. Then we need to help them start rebuilding. We need to purchase tarps, buy bricks, mortar, bamboo rods and pay the locals to reconstruct.
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