Relief Fund For Families Affected By Cyclone Fani - Thinkzone

Thinkzone is a social enterprise working in rural Odisha. Currently working in three districts - Cuttack, Kendrapara, and Bhadrak, the organization's primary goal is to provide affordable primary education through its learning centers in villages. These learning centers are run by the women of the community who are provided with training and learning resources. They are also provided with local help and monitoring of the quality of education through cluster managers. In these rural areas of Odisha, where there are fewer opportunities for women to be a part of the workforce, Thinkzone has empowered over 200 women through this model and has touched the lives of over 4000 kids in 300 villages.

Cyclone Fani, considered as extremely severely cyclone (ESC), started developing around April 25 and had made a landfall on 3rd May in Odisha on the east coast. The “rarest of rare” cyclone, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph. It has resulted in flattening fragile houses, uprooting scores of trees, electric poles and mobile towers. According to government officials, Cyclone Fani has already caused widespread destruction and has left hundreds of grappling with water shortage and power cuts. With the absence of mobile networks in several areas, the actual damage across the rural hinterlands is yet unknown.

By the 5th of May, as the situation started getting a little better, we at Thinkzone communicated through limited network available and found out that the damage in the areas we are working on was extensive. Our women mentors in the villages, local managers, their families, houses and livestock had incurred significant damage and there was a huge monetary loss to the already low-income community. One of our mentors had to rehabilitate after her home and learning center was completely destroyed by the cyclonic winds and rains. Even with the Government’s relief program working in the state, it would take months before they could reach to these remote villages. Hence we need your support to reach out to them as soon as we can, to their families and communities and do our bit in helping them in rebuilding their lives.