Ms.Sundarammal lives in Eguvarpalayam village in Gummidipoondi  Block. She is an ex-ward member of her panchayat and currently functions as the President of Gummidipoondi Union Level Women Federation.

“We, the people of Eguvarpalayam village live in the disaster-prone area” started Sundarammal. In earlier times we did not know much about the vulnerable situation of our own village. We did not know about the water storage and drainage sources available in and around our village. People who had known this important information about the village also would not share with others as there was a big racquet going on with real estate business.

The common people were the ultimate victims of natural disasters. They became pawns in the hands of the vested interest people. Their height of plight was witnessed during the December 2015 floods. The entire village was marooned with flood water. The women and children were the worst affected. “ We were living on the roadside” recalls Sundrammal. “Though we knew that water had not receded, we did not know much about the real causes of the problems that are affecting us and the real issues aggravated by the floods related to health, education, welfare and development”.

Though the Women SHGS and its federation met many times and discussed various problems affecting them, they could not find ways and means of tackling them and there was also no cooperation from a segment of the village groups as they were fragmented due to divisive forces.

It was at this chaotic situation in April 2016, that the Caritas India supported, Madras Social Service (MSSS) facilitated  Udhayam  ECO DRR Programme was introduced in this village. After the orientation, the members were guided to do  PDRA exercises. Volunteers in the village were trained. Thereafter they initiated the social Mapping with village streets, house types, identifying vulnerable people like aged, children, pregnant women, differently abled persons etc., The other exercises like resource mapping, Emergency evacuation plan, seasonality mapping,  SWOT analyses, ranking of village problems were done with the guidance of MSSS.

These exercises are eye opening for them and they developed contingency plan and micro plan toward the disaster preparedness and  integrated development of our village panchayat. Following these exercises, the motivated members  formed the village level committees for Health, Education and Sanitation.

Women members of Eguvarpalayam say that they know the entire plan of the village and all the resources are listed out for the common people’s use. They are very much aware of their problems, issues, weaknesses, struggles and at the same time know how to overcome with their own village resources, say the.

Mr.Jayaseelan, a veteran of 27 years of development experience as Programme Manager in Madras Social Service Society  (MSSS) says that Caritas India has been instrumental in establishing MSSS as a resource organisation in the field of DRR. He added that the constant accompaniment given by Caritas India Zonal Manager Dr.John Arokiaraj has made the difference and is highly valued. The periodical review, knowledge sharing, field accompaniment and critical feedback are useful for furthering the process.

The expertise provided by  Arakkonam INS Rajali, and the mock drills conducted by NDRF/SDRF have contributed to the preparedness of the village people. Task force members in this village are periodically trained by MSSS in collaboration with Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Forces, District Disaster Management Authority, Thiruvallur.   “We have task forces that can take care of the communities before, during and after disasters” confidently says Mr.Barath, Udhayam programme Co-ordinator.

Fr.Patrick I Joseph, Director of MSSS is very humble in saying that it is our humanitarian concern to help the least of our brethren who are the victims of social injustice. With people’s participation, MSSS has brought out 15 village level documents on  PDRA findings and Micro Plan which are accessible to all the members. “We are happy that we can bring in positive impacts in the life of flood-affected people by creating livelihood opportunities, access to their own resources,  reduce their vulnerabilities and lead a life with dignity”.