South Asia floods 2007
Getting aid to floods victims in India
The floods in South Asia have affected an estimated 20 million people across the region.
Balram, Bachelal and Bina (left to right) are volunteers with Oxfam’s partner, Abhigyan Disha, in Bihar, India. Their job is to go to the worst affected villages and select those most in need. It's a tough task as everyone is in need.
"It's very hard to take a decision but we need to decide because of the level of resources we have. It pains me in my heart, but we can only give to the most needy," says Bina.
Photo: Ian Bray
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Making the selection
Bina goes around the village assessing the level of destruction and how people are coping. She knows the village well and has a list of criteria for deciding who is most in need.
She selects families based on the level of the damage to their house, and also gives priority to female-headed households and those with pregnant women, young children, and elderly or disabled members. This is done in agreement with village leaders - the panchi.
Photo: Ian Bray
Reeta Devi's house
Balram stands outside what remains of Reeta Devi’s home. Reeta, who is 30-years-old, lived here with her four children - including a nine-month-old baby - and her 60-year-old mother-in-law. She and her family have taken shelter in her brother-in-law’s home.
Nearby, on the day this photo was taken, a 35-year-old mother of three, Peramila Devi, died when her weakened house collapsed on her.
Photo: Ian Bray
The day of the aid distribution
Despite all the preparation the distribution is delayed by a few hours because the roads are very bad and some of the trucks loaded with aid have not turned up.
They finally arrive at 10.00 am and are quickly unloaded. The trucks are carrying sacks of rice, peanuts and gram flour. It takes half an hour to unload the aid and put it in the warehouse ready for the day’s aid distribution.
Photo: Ian Bray
Letting people know what will be happening
The small town where the aid will be distributed is full of expectant people all wanting to know where they need to go and when the aid will be given out.
Bina explains to a large group of women what will be happening, what they will be receiving and where they need to go.
Photo: Ian Bray
Reeta Devi waits her turn
Reeta and her youngest child wait for the distribution to begin. She has already received R250 (£3) from the government in flood relief but nothing else.
Besides her house collapsing she lost almost all she had in the flood. To cope she has borrowed R1,000 (£13) from a moneylender. She’ll have to pay five per cent interest. Her baby has an eye infection and she had to pay R200 (£2.50) for the medicine.
Photo: Ian Bray
The aid distribution begins
There are 455 families who will receive aid today. The head of each household will present their coupon that will be cross-referenced with the master list and registered with either a thumbprint or signature.
People will receive rice, gram flour, peanuts, jaggery (unrefined sugar) and salt.
Photo: Ian Bray
How to disinfect dirty water
Besides receiving food people will also get two buckets to store water in, cloth to filter the water and chemicals to disinfect and make the water safe.
Contaminated water can be a killer and people need to be able to make the water safe for drinking. Volunteers demonstrate how to use the filter and the chemicals that will disinfect any dirty water.
Photo: Ian Bray
Reeta finally gets her aid
Reeta, along with one of her daughters, finally gets her aid. They have waited nearly two hours. After a slow initial start, the volunteers from Abhigyan Disha are quickly processing everyone. They average 100 people an hour, so by late afternoon everyone who is entitled will have received their aid package.
Photo: Ian Bray
A long walk home
Along with many others, Reeta will now have to walk nearly ten miles to get home. She has some aid and support but her future is uncertain. She doesn’t own any land and relies on working on other people’s land to make a living.
The floods have ruined the rice crop and have taken away her chance of getting work. It has come at the worse possible time. This is the major planting season, when she would normally earn the most. She won’t get paid work now until the wheat planting season which is in three month’s time.
Photo: Ian Bray
