KOCHI: After lending their helping hands to the flood-affected, the team of All Ladies League under their newly formed NGO is actively taking part in the flood relief operations. As the name suggests, the team of ‘Do For Others’, is travelling to provide essential materials to various households.
“We wanted to work together as an independent organisation and under the Ladies League, we could not provide a space for men. But through our latest NGO, we could invite more people for our operations,” said Sujatha Menon, co-founder of Do For Others. Others are Bindu Satyajith and Asha Nair. Sujatha noted from the day of the unprecedented floods in the state, the team has been volunteering a lot of relief works.
Do For Others divided their operations into three parts - Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation. In the first case, through WhatsApp groups, they continuously monitored the people stranded in various parts. “Our members from Bengaluru, Australia and Kochi kept on tracking it and each day we made a priority list. The list was handed over to the Navy for further action,” she said. They made sure there was no duplication and the most vulnerable gets the first priority. She mentioned the Navy officials relied on their list and they acknowledged them for their work.
Next was the relief in which the team became actively involved in helping people with essential items. “We started a Facebook page and shared messages, helping us to reach out to the needy,” she added. Sujatha noted they then started receiving help from Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune. “A truckloads of relief materials came from these places and we packed and provided it to the Coast Guard and Navy for air drops,” she said. She noted their team consisting of nearly 1,000 members made a lot of food items like chappathis and distributed it to the needful areas.
As part of the rehabilitation, Sujatha mentioned they provide various types of kits for men, women, kids as well as for the kitchen. “Volunteers used to pack all these items working day and night. These packets are provided to the flood-affected households. “Our team is travelling to Paravur and Chendamangalam with these kits. It will have the necessary items of clothes, food, baby milk and essential commodities,” she added.
Sujatha mentioned before the flood worsened they had travelled to Wayanad to provide relief work and promised them the team would come back soon to rehabilitate, which is their long-term aim too. “We are travelling this Friday to Wayanad with 100 family kits. We intend to help them rebuild their lives,” she said. She added once they make it official, they will help people in painting their houses or reconstruction.