Why am I fundraising?

The Tamil poet Mahakavi Bharathiyar sang:

Nalladhoar veenai seydhu adhai
nalangedap puzhudhiyil erivadhundo?
Solladi sivasakthi!
Yennai chudarmigum arivudan padaiththuvittai.
Vallamai thaaraayo
indha maanilam payanura vaazhvadharke.

My name is Sharmila Yadav and I was born in the land that Bharathi called home. I work as a Biomedical engineer abroad, far away from family, friends, and my country. With the massive devastation the rains have caused in Tamil Nadu, as an NRI it is unavoidable to feel frustrated and helpless to not be able to assit in person. But I don't think that should stop one from trying. Therefore, my friends in Bangalore and I formed a team to coordinate relief work for flood victims in Chennai and Cuddalore. Our mission is to to fundraise, procure relief materials, assemble them into kits, establish a supply chain, and distribute the kits to victims in affected regions.

This page was specifically created to act as a way for Indians from all over the world to contribute to the plight of our motherland. The funds will be utilized by my team of friends in Bangalore, India to come up with a basic survival kit with emergency food, hygiene products, and medicines for about 500+ people and distribute it to Chennai and Cuddalore. 

We are primarily raising funds through the crowdfunding website Milaap as both Indian rupee and foreign donations are accepted and there is no associated processing fee. This makes 100% of your contributions to be effectively utilized for our mission. 

We have created a facebook page as well: https://www.facebook.com/istandwithchennai where you can find more information and updates on our cause. 

What do I plan to do with the funds?

With the funds our relief team will be personally purchasing, assembling, and distributing the kits to affected areas around Chennai and Cuddalore. Previously, the kit that we put together for Chennai consisted of essentials such as:

1. 4 Biscuit packets (Parle G)
2. 2 Everyday milk powder packets
3. Glucon D powder ( 100G)
4. Pepsodent 30gm toothpaste
5. Small Lifebuoy soap 
6. Vicks VapourRub
7. Two Jam Packets 
8. 3 Dabur HoneyTus
9. 6 tablets of B-complex
10. Bella Sanitary Napkins 
11. Pampers
12. New blankets

Achievements so far:

We distributed 66 carton boxes containing 547 kits from Bangalore in and around Saidapet, Velacherry & Thoraipakkam in Chennai. These consisted of:

1. 204 Female kits (includes Bella sanitary napkins) 
2. 258 General Kits 
3. 85 Kids Survival kits (includes Pampers diapers) 
4. 5 Cartons containing basic medicines
5. 200 brand new blankets

Current goal:

We have turned our attention towards Cuddalore upon multiple requests and understanding the situation and needs of the people there. We have consolidated the requirements list for the relief aid we are planning to send to Cuddalore. Our aim is to get the resources there by Sunday. Requirements include:

1. 1000 blankets
2. 500 lungies
3. 500 nighties
4.1000 towels
5.1000 Vicks Vaporub
6. 3000 mosquito coils with match boxes

These were decided based on inputs from local relief workers who have extensively surveyed the Cuddalore area. We hope we can procure them all if not more as funds come through.

We are looking for more funds to buy water bottles, bread, and more medicines based on requirements from camps. 

Below you will find pictures that were taken during the assembly and packaging (at our team member Chaitra’s house) of the supplies in Bangalore and during distribution in Chennai. We really appreciate the positive energy and feedback we have received so far from friends and contributors. It has given us more hope in our campaign and boosted our morale. Please contribute what you can and share the word among your friends and families to keep us going. Do checkout our facebook page for updates on our progress and our future directions.

FAQs

Please feel free to ask as many questions if you have doubts regarding the relief work. Email us at banu2590@gmail.com or sharmiayadav.duke@gmail.com.