The Angelo Province of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus help people caught up in disasters and conflicts across India with food, sanitation and protection. Emergency response is the phase of the disaster-management cycle that often attracts the most attention and resources. The Brothers extend in-kind support and cash donation to the victims of any disaster or emergency situation. Where possible, the Brothers collaborate and cooperate with the local Government and line departments in the various phases of disasters, viz, Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation interventions.
The Brothers’ Emergency Response Plan includes four phases of Mitigation,Preparedness,Response, and Recovery. In any disaster, it Carries out a risk assessment to identify potential emergency scenarios.
In response to natural disasters and complex emergencies, the Angelo Province Society engagesits Emergency Response Teams formed and trained in each region of its operational areas. The Province has proper systems and structures to work effectively and efficiently in our collective response to emergencies.
Our vision is to promote social justice, solidarity and compassion through timely emergency and recovery actions that address the needs of the most vulnerable.
We take a comprehensive approach to Emergency disaster relief by providing Food, shelter, Dry ration kit, nutrition to children and women, clean water and protective cloth initially. Then we ensure proper sanitation and space for practice of personal health and hygiene. Finally, to enable the victims to resume their normal life, we focus on livelihood interventions before the exit.
In the recent years, the Angelo Province Society’s response to natural disasters and man made one like the pandemic COVID 19 is impressive and impact oriented.
KERALA FLOOD 2018
On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and 140 were missing. The Angelo Province Society took efforts to extend relief to the victims of flood in Palakkad and Idukki Districts located adjacent to its state of Tamil Nadu borders.
The Society extended Dry-ration Food Kits, Nutritional support, Medicines, Protective Clothes and educational supplies to the Children who had lost their personal belongings. Seven Villages were adopted for relief and rehabilitation measures.
GAJA CYCLONE 2018
Severe cyclonic storm ‘Gaja’ has devastated the Tamil Nadu delta on November 15 and the early hours on November 16, affecting 12 districts of the state.
The cyclone left a trail of destruction in eight districts, particularly in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai, uprooting coconut trees spread over 69,358 hectares. Though fewer human lives were lost, property loss was high. Predominantly agrarian belt of the state has seen flat coconut farms all over. 60-80% of all coconut trees in the region was destroyed by the cyclonic storm and wind. More than 10 million coconut trees and thousands of cashew nut trees and Jack-fruit trees were uprooted by the devastating cyclone Gaja.
The Angelo Province Society plunged in to immediate action by engaging its Disaster Management Team members and volunteers who had helped the villagers clear the debris and make their ways. Thousands of families lost their roof tops.
People could not go for work and hence, they went to bed with empty stomach. Children were only half fed. Being a cold season, the victims experienced extreme climate conditions. Hence, the Angelo Province Society extended relief materials in the form of Dry ration kits, Protective Clothes, Solar Lamps as they had no electricity for weeks.
COVID-19 Relief Work
On 11 March 2020, WHO declared Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic and reiterated the call for countries to take immediate actions and scale up response to treat, detect and reduce transmission to save people’s lives. But the Governments failed miserably to control the virus and now the ongoing pandemic has affected over 162 million people worldwide and 24.4.million people in India while 3.36 million have lost their lives worldwide and 26.6 thousand deaths in India.
The challenges the pandemic poses to healthcare systems globally are manifold and difficult to overcome. Related issues range from shortages of medical equipment and limited capacities to restricted access to healthcare professionals during the confinement period, which significantly increases the health risk for wide parts of the global population.
During the crisis, children across the globe are deprived of access to education. This worsens the in equalities in education outcomes for children from under privileged backgrounds
There were hundreds of calls from different parts of our operational areas for humanitarian aid. The Government of India and the State government of Tamilnadu have appealed to NGOs in general and the Christian NGOs in particular for providing relief to the people affected by COVID 19. The province, with the consent of its council members, took greater efforts to provide relief to the victims of COVID 19. Our major relief measures included the following:
- Dry food stuffs (Rice, Rava, Wheat Flour, Millet etc)
- Grocery items – Dhal, Pulses, Spices etc
- Cooking Oil (Gingeli Oil, Ground nut oil and Coconut oil)
- Cash donation for purchase of vegetables
- Supply of Toileteries, Sanitary items (napkins / soaps / paste )
- Supply of Nutrition – Millet snacks & Biscuits
- Spraying of herbal disinfectant etc.
