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CARE TODAY
Hope for Orissa
For a Sheltered Tomorrow
To
rehabilitate the destitute widows and orphans of the cyclone-hit Ersama
block in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, CARE TODAY undertook the construction
of 100 houses at a cost of Rs 40 lakh. Of these, 84 have been built and
16 are nearing completion.
In
the aftermath of the cyclone that devastated Orissa in October 1999, CARE
TODAY visited the state to appraise the situation and identify what it
could do for the thousands of people rendered destitute and homeless.
We subsequently decided to work with widows, their children and orphans.
One of the projects we undertook was the construction of 100 houses for
selected widows and orphans of Ersama block of Jagatsinghpur district.
Actionaid, an ngo working in the district, undertook the construction
work and Rs 40 lakh was sanctioned for the purpose.
Exactly a
year later, a team from CARE TODAY and Actionaid visited all the houses
in 11 villages of Ersama block. We found that 84 houses had been built
and the remaining 16 were likely to be completed in the next two weeks.
While 72 beneficiaries had already moved into their houses, others were
waiting to perform a puja before doing so.
The CARE
TODAY houses stand out in that they are the only ones so far to be completed
and occupied. While most of the houses are separate entities, some include
two houses in a contiguous structure. In one case three houses have been
built contiguously for the three daughters-in-law of Bikram Sahoo of Durgapur
village, who lost his sons in the cyclone.
A year is
a long time, and much has happened. Of the 96 widows and four orphan beneficiaries,
a 62-year-old widow, Mali Bewa of Gadakujanga, died of electrocution.
Her son, Rabindra Das, 17, adopted after the cyclone, has inherited the
house.
Some beneficiaries
have already begun improvising on the houses, adding verandahs or an additional
room with the compensation money or contributions from their kin. Parbati
Das of Chaulia now operates a small shop from her house.
Pictured
here are 30 beneficiaries with their houses. We thank you for your contributions
to CARE TODAY that has made all this possible.
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