Hope is dope

All the children who were between 1-6 years were given new set of clothes(pullover & pant). Many of these children have a lost expression ..as if things have happened too fast, one after another. These children are really sweet..they share their parents /siblings pain or happiness.

Most of them are back to their ' children' mode when they are playing with other kids. Only when their parents pick them up to move on, they feel fear or rather a resigned fear for 'fear'.
Most of the time their parent pick them up or ask them to come along ..its because they have to go to a relief center for help. Its always a long trek, hungry journey on foot & on boat to reach the relief center.

Earlier, when the flood was at its peak.. it must have been their parents who would have carried them from place to place, chasing safe places.
These are the tough little winners of life.


This old timer lost everything. Very painful to look into his eyes....they tell a sad tale..whats worse..it seems he has lost hope. Out here hope is dope. Its hope that numbs your pain and pushes you to keep on walking..despite all the pain.

A handicapped child, his fingers were joined at birth..they are more like feet in appearance. He is pretty good at everything he does.. almost at par with those who have healthy hands.

" I had the blues
'cause I had no shoes ;
Until, upon the street
I saw a kid who had no feet "

Three generations

Three generations...all share each others pain & helplessness. But how can you tell a child about
good things in life, about GoD, about humanity.. whey they have already lived through the miseries me may take life long to experience.

Confusion ? Clarity of illusion ? Defiance ? Pain ? Anger ? WHAT ?

Whats this little girl thinking; very difficult to put words to these expressions. They break your heart man. Why these little children ? So much pain, suffering at this tender age.

Flood relief~ Gwalpada, Murligunj

After waiting for what would have seemed like eternity..the beneficiaries got their relief materials. We distributed 230 blankets before we had ho pack up and leave because of some local problem.

But, we were back next day & carried out with our distributions. These people were so well behaved and patient...they just kept on waiting..until redistribution started.

Dighi/Gwalpada relief distributions

Distribution of blankets at Gwalpada was done mainly for old citizens, widows & handicapped people.

My camera was stuck ..so could not zoom out..but that helped actually, the expressions on the face of beneficiaries & their body language that tells a lot about what they have been through, what they expect & how they feel.

Distribution near Birpur

Birpur is a small town almost on the Indo-Nepal border (5 km east of  Mahendra Rajmarg H01,Nepal) and in very close vicinity of Kusaha where the breach took place. It was in the line of new breakaway Kosi as it charted the course of least resistance ..tearing apart everything that came in its way. 

We always wanted to do work at Birpur ,Chatapur & adjoining areas where the damage is unbelievably raw till date. It is still very difficult to undertake relief work in this area.

Relief work was undertaken at Balua Bisdhanpur with the help of local volunteers & members of AMURT who have been working with us in distributing blankets and other warm clothing for the distressed population in the interiors of this region.

It was one of our toughest relief trips in these areas. We travelled in mini truck  close to 1000 km on rough roads..loaded with 600 blankets, 400 sets of clothes for small children, shawls, medicines et all.

Crammed in space of about 8 x 6 feet, with all these materials , Guneshwarji & Srikant ji spent  nights parked at broken culverts & river banks; totally cut off from everything.

To their credit, they did carry out what was charted for them. They personally distributed more than 1200 KG of relief materials in this area .

It is always a learning experiance to work with passionate people whose only objective is to help the poor.

The heart of a volunteer can never be defeated,they say.

And that works so well out here.

Last fortnight was tough; we had a crash ,we lost the vehicle, driver ran off,we got ripped, it was cold & lonely..so lonely.What happened in Mumbai really ate deep into me..and for the first time in four months..I felt like quitting.

Guneshwar called me from Gujrat and said he was coming down for flood relief work for a week.

And then Srikant Ji told me that the work we are doing cannot be done if one does not have a deep conviction for the cause. No amount of money can bring in the kind of commitment thats needed to 

a long sustained lonely relief effort like this.

That helped a lot; really, I coudnt have asked for a better team than this. Instead of running away from the prolonged discomfort zone ( as many have), these guys actually wanted more of it !

So, here we go again. No deadlines,no cutoff dates.. we will work as long as it takes.

Thank you Guneshwar for all the help and for sharing our burden. At the railway station, I saw a proud father..and he should be. We are all very proud of you. 

As promised, we will be going back to Birpur, to finish what was started by you.

Be well & God bless you.

~chandan

+919931763070

Distribution at Koriapatti Panchayat

Blanket Distribution to the handicapped beneficiaries

Blanket & shawl distribution~Koriapatti/Gwalpada

Blanket distribution ~Gwalpada