Six weeks ago a series of heavy
floods struck the Indian state of Orissa. Over two million people were marooned on highways and embankments around the state after their homes and fields were submerged. Concern distributed 4,000
tarpaulins to villagers in the badly affected districts of Sambalpur and Kendrapada.Click here to listen
Matt Pickard, country director Concern India, speak about how Concern responded to the floods.The receding waters revealed the extent of the damage: thousands of homes were destroyed or
damaged and 200,000 hectares of crops were ruined just one month before the harvest was due. People have now returned to their villages but the disaster will leave a lasting legacy on those whose
crops, homes and livelihoods were destroyed. Concern and its partners in Orissa are working with affected communities to help people get their lives back on track.Many of those affected were
landless labourers who were already living in poverty. "You have to remember that when living on the margins, any small loss can have significant consequences," said Concern Country Director in India,
Matt Pickard.The injection of cash into affected communities is vital in allowing people to purchase vital necessities and reinvigorate the local economy. Concern are engaged in a "Cash for
Work" programme whereby people work on damaged fields and houses in response for cash. Concern and its local partners are also distributing seed to 19,000 families to plant for the upcoming winter
crop. An estimated 110,000 people will benefit from the cash for work and seed distribution programme.Orissa is situated on the east coast of India and has a population of 37 million people.
Concern arrived in Orissa in response to the 1999 "Supercyclone" which killed over 10,000 people but have stayed on to help tackle the chronic poverty that exists there. Concern is working in seven
districts in Orissa.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
