Amphan relief camps at Sundarban....

​

​India is battling against the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire country is facing a lockdown since March 23rd, 2020. In this difficult time while the citizens are already struggling, a super cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal on 20th May, 2020. The cyclone passed directly through the Sundarbans causing a devastation that left a few lakh of people homeless. Lighthouse-Think different has taken some initiatives to help the people of the Sundarbans for both short-time and longtime relief.

​From our organizational responsibilities and the moral responsibility of working with the help of the people, we try our best to complete any work of the Light House in a well-planned, well-documented and waste-free manner. It takes time, it takes labor and it requires a long discussion but at the end, we can successfully implement the project. In Amphan like devastating situation, all those responsibilities are many fold. After doing Reiki on two occasions at several places in the Amphan-ravaged Sundarbans by our members, Light House have started to the relief works in the Sundarban regions. 

​

​Our next plan is the following -

1. Taking charge of 500 families in a remote village across the Rangabelia area of Gosaba. In the first phase, we target to provide food to all these families for at least 15 days. Our plan was to build a community kitchen. However, we realized that, in the submerged life even if we get the raw materials, presently there is no situation to cook food in such a large scale in those areas. We were unable to arrange community kitchen because of a severe scarcity of drinking water. The salt water of the rivers has entered the villages and it has destroyed all the ponds and local water bodies. The tube wells are sunk into the water. People are fetching boiled water from far away. In such a situation, arranging drinkable water for cooking food for so many people will have a great risk of water contamination. Without pumping out the contaminated water and bringing back one or two ponds in normal condition, it will be highly risky to start a community kitchen… 

If you all are standing beside us, we will start this work a few days later….

As a result, for the time being, we will supply kits of food items, like- pulses, potatoes, onions, soybeans, turnips, biscuits, and kits of emergency items like soap, bleaching powder, utensils to each family for the next 15 days. Our group members have already made the list, after talking to them and understanding their requirements. (Rice has been left out consciously)

After removing the water, some families are able to build their cooking ovens and some families could not. Others are coming to eat at the homes of those who have ovens. Now they are surviving by mutual sharing and caring basis. If possible, we will also arrange new ovens in a few houses. The price is not high. The difficult part is the transporting those ovens in the interior regions of sundarban with an extremely difficult mode of communication. We will do the entire shopping from the local shops in the Sundarban region and distribute it in the remote areas. It will save the carrying cost and help the local economy.

2. In the next phase, 400 families will be given sari, lungi, towel, mosquito net and torch. That's what they need to survive in the coming year. They have not had food problems so far. There is food. It could have been ideal to have these things tomorrow, but understanding different situations, we will supply them in the next phase.

3. Third and most importantly, the village has been tasked with cleaning 10 ponds. They have requested to irrigate and clean the salt-water by pumping and that's the most important thing right now. There is no water. Our members also went and realized that the problem of drinking water in remote villages is serious! Apart from drinking, cooking, bathing or washing water will not be available without renovating those ponds. We will try to return the ponds to their previous condition. We are discussing with local responsible people about it and will update you soon.

4. We also need to arrange Medical camps within a few days. The water has started to recede; this time poses threats of stomach ailments and other problems, which is very common in Sundarban area, at the end of any such calamities like storm, hurricane, flood etc. Lighthouse will try to provide a little medical service in these areas.

5. As a result of the breaking of river dams and flooding all the lands, the next farming system is in crisis. We will provide seeds to the farmers for the crop that will be best cultivated in salt-water soaked soil. We are discussing the issue with both sides- with local farmers and Agricultural-scientists. We believe this will be a very promising and far-reaching task. There is no other truth like this at this moment that, ‘relief and relief alone will never be able to handle this catastrophe’.

This is our current plan for the Amphan-devastated Sundarbans. Your feedback is welcome. You are most welcome to stand beside us. We know, at the time of lockdown everyone’s logistics are very limited. So stay by your side as you can. It is a long-term job, so stay tuned for the future.

There is no limit of gratitude to those who have trusted and believed in us for so long. We would like to thank those who have helped us in some way or the other. Best wishes to the people endangered by the disaster. That is what we all want.

Our address is the following-

After supporting us, please send a message in any one of those WhatsApp numbers (given below) with the payment details. We will send you the receipt as soon as possible. 

********************************************************************************************

Name: LIGHT HOUSE THINK DIFFERENT

Bank: Allahabad Bank

Branch: Elgin Road

A/c number: 50466230986

IFSC code: ALLA0210633

MICR code: 700010023

********************************************************************************************

G-pay: 8100040046

PayTm: 8100040046, 9830918071

********************************************************************************************

Good luck to you in this difficult time.

May our efforts to stay well be more united and happy.

With any question or help we are here:

+91-9830918071,

+91-9883133183,

+91-9051054310,

+91-8100040046

​LIGHT HOUSE -Think different