IndiaInc4Kerala
In august of 2019, parts of Kerala were devastated by floods. 10 days of flooding led to an estimated loss is in excess of Rs. 40,000 crores ($5.5 billion) in the state. Homes and public buildings suffered the most damage. Much of the village's population lived in poverty and were unable to afford the repair of their properties. While the aid that poured in immediately after the floods was crucial for necessary evacuations and temporary support programs, it wasn't enough for long term rebuilding efforts. What followed was the urgent need to rebuild homes in further flung areas and to restore to the poorest of poor their means of livelihood.
IndiaInc4Kerala (II4K) aimed to rehabilitate families by improving infrastructure that would provide the community with benefits in the long run. The Trust provided a platform for multinationals, PSUs, and other private donors to provide support for the rehabilitation of the affected community. The II4K Project comprised a group of people who came together to adopt Puthenvelikkara, a small village, and help rebuild it sustainably to mitigate sociological, ecological, environmental and livelihood concerns. The team consisted of individuals with a wide variety of professional expertise, united by their shared compassion.
Team II4K engaged with the village community to rebuild 25 homes. Each house has been built around 450 sq. ft and cost about 5.5 lakhs to refurbish, not including overheads. Every homeowner was fully involved in the design and structure finalization processes. Each beneficiary signed a tripartite agreement between them, the local government and II4K.
Additionally, we restored a damaged primary school in the village and worked with the local hospital to upgrade their healthcare resources and programmes. Our partners included the local and state government and SEEDS, an organization experienced in rebuilding homes after natural disasters. We are currently expanding our project to help the community by rebuilding 40 homes and public infrastructure.
Some of the Beneficiaries
Rajeev Pavitran
Rajeev struggles with mental illness. He lived alone in one room of his damaged house. Reconstruction of his home was completed in July 2019 according to his design specifications.
Indira Supran
Indira’s house had been fully damaged and she lived in a shed with her 9 year old son and husband, a daily wage worker and the sole provider of the family. She suffered from a major illness - a lump in the stomach that needed to be removed surgically. Her home was fully completed by July 2019.
“The foundation has been increased markedly in depth and the plinth in height, from standard practices, to make sure we don’t have a repeat performance of last year."
- Joshain Joseph, the on-site project manager for II4K who operates in the village panchayat and has close relationships with the entire community.
"Quality architecture, customised home designs, best practice skill-building for local masons and most of all, resilient engineering to withstand future floods were the key parameters around which we focused our implementation efforts,” - Kavita Narayan, KTE Trustee
Repairs at the Local School
The floods destroyed the front and back boundary walls of the local school at Puthenvelikkara. The gate fell and the school was exposed on all sides. The school authorities sought the help of II4K to rebuild the walls.
In the week of Dec 17th, 2018, over 60 students engaged in the National Service Scheme, spent a week preparing the for the rebuilding of the wall. They removed all the rubble and segregated and stored all the material that could be reused. They painted the gate (which was to be reused) and cleared the area.
The construction of the walls and gate installation started in Dec and was concluded in January.
Refurbishing Taluk Hospital
Taluk hospital had requested II4K's support in improving basic outpatient services and exploring options for the community to be able to access healthcare, doctors, and nurses at all times.
The hospital was short of lab staff and needed good x-ray services. They also required better biomedical waste management. Management was unable to afford these upgrades.
Team II4K helped fund these basic infrastructure upgrades and establish better care networks for the community's well being in the long term.
II4K's efforts helped a community heal from this disastrous flood and equipped them with the infrastructure to benefit the this generation of the community and the next as well. Improved access to healthcare and education is crucial for the alleviation of poverty in the long run and we will continue working with the community to create a more secure and sustainable future.
