A way of life, an ecological wonder has been destroyed by Cyclone Amphan. Sunderbans Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but more importantly it is home to 4 million plus people and several rare animal species. The damage is estimated to be at least ₹1 trillion (US$13.2 billion) and the cyclone has directly affected almost 60 million people.
Resilient as the migrant workers are, they had started returning home due to the COVID lockdown so that they can work in fishing, agriculture and other rural activities for their economic sustenance. But the cyclone has wiped out embankments, cultivable land and cattle too. There are entire families which are struggling to survive without food or shelter, children who don't have access to infant food and the vulnerable are without medical supplies.
The magnitude of what has taken place is not possible to calculate even as we share this. Because the despair due to loss of life and livelihood is replaced by the desperation to survive each day.
Some of us whose lives have been entwined with West Bengal from our childhood want to do whatever we can to support these people - in surviving this trauma as well as rebuilding their lives. They have the resilience and courage already - we simply need to provide the support to start this journey again.
We are 4 school friends- Vinti, Rupanwita, Karuna and Simran, born and brought up in Calcutta. We all have friends and family there even now. West Bengal is home for us. And we cannot remain spectators when our home gets destroyed. We can feel the sadness, pain and loss - and move on. Or we can feel it and take any action that we can at this point to help.
Sunderbans is one of the worst hit. The only sounds that are coming from the people there is that everything is gone. Salt water from the sea has entered farmland and destroyed it for years to come. To understand the magnitude, in one single block, 16,000-acre farming land are damaged due to the saline water. And there are many such blocks.
It will take years to rebuild but we need to start now. We have identified and verified a credible NGO that does excellent work in the Sunderbans since 1987 with respect to cyclone relief and spoken to them to understand the work they are doing at the grassroot level now.
Sharing the details below for all of you to see and some news links to understand the extent of this tragedy. We urge to share this fundraiser link in all your networks and contribute as much as possible. No contribution or effort is small. As you can see from the situation, every bit matters.
All funds raised will be directly shared with them to first support the immediate needs - dry rations, medicines, baby food and so on. We will continue to share and support this for as long as we can raise funds so that after the immediate needs are met, the funds can help take care of rebuilding. This NGO is working with close to 25,000 families in the Sunderbans Delta.
NGO Website -
https://www.ggbk.in/
Articles -
https://scroll.in/article/962916/sundarbans-is-finished-super-cyclone-amphan-leaves-a-trail-of-misery-in-bengal
https://www.telegraphindia.com/calcutta/cyclone-amphan-rings-death-knell-for-sunderbans-amid-coronavirus-lockdown/cid/1774878
Resilient as the migrant workers are, they had started returning home due to the COVID lockdown so that they can work in fishing, agriculture and other rural activities for their economic sustenance. But the cyclone has wiped out embankments, cultivable land and cattle too. There are entire families which are struggling to survive without food or shelter, children who don't have access to infant food and the vulnerable are without medical supplies.
The magnitude of what has taken place is not possible to calculate even as we share this. Because the despair due to loss of life and livelihood is replaced by the desperation to survive each day.
Some of us whose lives have been entwined with West Bengal from our childhood want to do whatever we can to support these people - in surviving this trauma as well as rebuilding their lives. They have the resilience and courage already - we simply need to provide the support to start this journey again.
We are 4 school friends- Vinti, Rupanwita, Karuna and Simran, born and brought up in Calcutta. We all have friends and family there even now. West Bengal is home for us. And we cannot remain spectators when our home gets destroyed. We can feel the sadness, pain and loss - and move on. Or we can feel it and take any action that we can at this point to help.
Sunderbans is one of the worst hit. The only sounds that are coming from the people there is that everything is gone. Salt water from the sea has entered farmland and destroyed it for years to come. To understand the magnitude, in one single block, 16,000-acre farming land are damaged due to the saline water. And there are many such blocks.
It will take years to rebuild but we need to start now. We have identified and verified a credible NGO that does excellent work in the Sunderbans since 1987 with respect to cyclone relief and spoken to them to understand the work they are doing at the grassroot level now.
Sharing the details below for all of you to see and some news links to understand the extent of this tragedy. We urge to share this fundraiser link in all your networks and contribute as much as possible. No contribution or effort is small. As you can see from the situation, every bit matters.
All funds raised will be directly shared with them to first support the immediate needs - dry rations, medicines, baby food and so on. We will continue to share and support this for as long as we can raise funds so that after the immediate needs are met, the funds can help take care of rebuilding. This NGO is working with close to 25,000 families in the Sunderbans Delta.
NGO Website -
https://www.ggbk.in/
Articles -
https://scroll.in/article/962916/sundarbans-is-finished-super-cyclone-amphan-leaves-a-trail-of-misery-in-bengal
https://www.telegraphindia.com/calcutta/cyclone-amphan-rings-death-knell-for-sunderbans-amid-coronavirus-lockdown/cid/1774878