All that was left of Banalata Kuity, 58, mud house, are a fallen wall buried under the mud that once formed the foundation of her house. Household articles were scattered in the slush of mud. Everything was destroyed which they have gathered with great difficulties.

The cyclone Yaas which made its landfall in the west of Balasore, Odisha at 8:30 a.m. on 26th May 2021 has reached South 24 Pargana, West Bengal by 12:30 with heavy tidal waves. The post-cyclone floods have breached mud embankments in 134 places leading to extensive flooding and damaging houses, facilities, agricultural land, and ponds. Banalata was hardly recovering from the loss of Cyclone Amphan when then Cyclone Yaas knocked on her door.

She along with her two sons and four grandchildren in Baliara Gram Panchayat of Mousuni village took refuge in the cyclone shelter and when she returned, everything was lost. The family was left with no means of necessary household items, clothing, beddings. It was difficult to maintain the basic hygiene of the family members, especially ladies. The family was surviving on the cooked food served by the local clubs and NGOs and Gram panchayat.

“After ‘Caritas India’ intervention in our village, we got hygiene and shelter kits support and now my living life will come to normal,” says Banalata. She added that “She and her family members are grateful to Caritas India since they helped me in our pathetic condition. Now at least our basic hygiene will be maintained, and we would stay under some proper tarpaulin shed.”

Caritas India with the funding from START Network through CAFOD has reached out to 2400 households belonging to the most excluded and vulnerable individuals from the tribal, Dalit and OBC communities in Namkhana and Gosaba Block of South 24 Parganas District.

The humanitarian response was aimed to meet the immediate lifesaving needs of the affected through hygiene/ Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WaSH) and Non-Food Items (NFI) support and Unconditional Conditional Transfer in the absence of livelihoods and regular income. The intervention has ensured the safety and protection needs of vulnerable populations especially women, children, and girls to safeguard their dignity and privacy.