The CCDR program was established with the primary aim of helping children who have been affected and left in ruins because of disasters and natural calamities. During cyclone Fani, many slums were destroyed which led to people losing their homes. Children were severely affected as it became difficult for the family to arrange for food and shelter. Amidst these difficult situations, the SOCH team distributed ration for cooking food, books and notebooks for children, emergency light lantern, sanitary pads to help the needy.

The CCDR program again worked in full swing during the Covid-19 crisis wherein a lot of daily wage earners were struggling to find a job and arrange for food for their families. The SOCH team actively got involved in the relief work by supporting more than 1500 families with dry ration and essential items.

1) All vulnerable households are made aware and are well-equipped for situations like disasters and natural calamities. 

2) All the vulnerable families are supported with a food/dry Ration kit to cope with the aftermath of the disaster.

3) Families that are identified as highly needy are supported by aiding them in restoration of their shelters that would have got damaged due to any disaster. 

4) Safeguarding of children’s rights during the time of disaster.

Our interventions have been mostly need-based, upon facing any disaster we formulate a plan according to the need of the situation. Like most of the other domains of social work, it  has been a real challenge to prioritize and support the most needy sections first, due to constraints on the available resources.

The Fani cyclone had left behind a trail of destruction in many districts of Odisha after its landfall on 5th May 2019. Thousands of people and livestocks were affected by this extremely severe cyclonic storm. Many places did not have a power supply  for weeks together due to uprooted electric poles. It was indeed a horrific site to behold. In such times, where many families were suffering due to destroyed homes and inability to even fetch basic necessities, SOCH team initiated a relief task to provide basic necessities like food and clothing to hundreds of whose normal livelihood had been destroyed and disrupted due to the catastrophic cyclone. With the help of proactive and dedicated volunteers SOCH could raise the money and relief materials to be donated and distributed among the needy. Many philanthropic people joined us in helping the affected communities return to normalcy. The SOCH team distributed kit containing Mudi (Puffed Rice), Chuda (Flattened Rice), Jaggery, Water Pouches, Biscuits, Sanitary Pads, Mosquito Nets, Mosquito Coils, Cotton Panties, Chlorine Tablets, Notebooks, Story Books, Pencil, Eraser, Sharpener, Scale, Noodles, Sanitary Towels, Tissue Papers, Panty Liner, Prickly Heat Powder, Mosquito Repellent Cream, Hair Oil, Mosquito Repellent Sticks, Solar Lights, Backpacks, in huge quantities to help the people severely affected by the impact of the cyclone, Fani.

During the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SOCH team actively got involved in providing relief to the most vulnerable and affected people of various parts of Odisha. When the entire state was under a lockdown and people were scared to socialise, SOCH’s dedicated on-field volunteers were proactive in going from place-to-place to ensure smooth distribution of relief materials like dry ration kits. Due to this relentless hard work of all the people involved in the response team, SOCH could reach out to over 1500 families and successfully distribute essential supplies in such dire times, meanwhile keeping in mind that all the necessary social distancing norms are followed properly.

Under the CCDR program, various vulnerable families from the slum of Bhubaneswar and Paradeep were located and targeted to be helped first by supplying them essentials. For the identification of these most vulnerable groups, volunteers from the SOCH team visited these slums and did on-field investigation through interviews and analysis of the people’s living conditions. After a thorough identification of these families, essential supplies were arranged and distributed to these families in an effective manner.

Relief work comes with its own set of challenges but this has not halted the work done by SOCH in Bhubaneswar and Paradeep. Prioritising and reaching out to the most vulnerable sections first is an incredibly difficult task as others can cause hindrance in the relief work who don’t belong to these sections. Many-a-times, due to lack of resources to help everyone living in a slum, it is ensured that the relief materials reach the most needy first and consequently the others as more resources are arranged for in the due course of time. But while distributing, there are times of chaos when apart from these vulnerable families, others also reach the relief distribution site and demand for the resources. In such circumstances, the volunteers of SOCH have tactfully managed the crowd well and convinced them to ensure smooth functioning of the relief work.

Updates of 1st Wave COVID-19 Activities

SOCH had worked hard to be able to support the marginalized groups  like ;  the daily wage labourers, the migrant people from other states, the beggars, the hawkers, the homeless people, people with disability, elderly people etc.in many slums of Bhubaneswar and Paradeep. During the pandemic, SOCH reached out to 1707 families by distributing dry ration kits in about 25 slums of both Bhubaneswar & Paradeep.

• With the support of Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI), 1122 Dry Ration Kits were distributed in 20 slums of Bhubaneswar.
• As a response to fighting COVID-19 from the frontlines, the SOCH team, with help of local volunteers at Paradeep, undertook the task of distributing face masks and soaps.
• With the support of Paradeep Phosphate Limited (PPL), 475 Dry Ration Kits were distributed in two slums of Paradeep. 
• With the partnership of I-PAC 500, cooked food packets were distributed to needy families in Patharbandha slum, Bhubaneswar.
• With the support of SBI Officer Wives Club, 110 Dry Ration Kits have been distributed in Narayan & Dehuri slums, at Unit-8, Bhubaneswar.