Hailing from Kannur, Nadeera and Shaheeda were once solidly middle class. But fate has taken successive wrong turns to bring them to the cusp of being hopelessly poor. Nadeera the older sister has been disabled since childhood and never married. Shaheeda was once married. But her husband abandoned her and their kids and moved on to greener pastures.

Even without anything else, the sisters were eking out a respectable survival thanks to the house their late father had built in 2003.

Then came the Kerala floods. The 2019 rains were especially brutal around Kannur. Concrete roof slab is giving way and leaking. The full house is covered with pots and pans on the floors to try and collect the water. But the water is everywhere – on the walls, floors, ceilings, and furniture.

The sisters had become both domestic abuse victims as well as climate refugees.
             

Like lightening striking a blind man, Nadeera slipped on the collected water and fractured both her feet and arms.

                                 

Shaheeda is nursing her sister back to health and would like to work as a maid and cover their’s and the children’s expenses. But nothing can happen as long as the house is leaking like this. They need around 1.2 lacs to put a metal sheet over their house and start anew. That’s all that’s standing between them and the dignity of not being out on the streets.

Help Swabhimaan trust put a roof on Nadeera and Shaheeda’s house by contributing to this drive.