Bringing Smile for the Children in Bihar & Orissa Floods

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 07, 2008 – Smile Foundation takes big leaps in helping the poor and the vulnerable during trying time of natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, epidemics etc. Time and again the organisation has reached out to large population for providing free treatment and medicines to the needy people. The foundation has come up with proactive relief programmes in two recent floods in the states of Bihar and Orissa.

Smile Foundation stepped in for the children of Bihar

River Kosi, known as sorrow of Bihar, started breaching its bank on August 18, 2008.This led to devastating flood situating in Bihar, which is one of the worst in India. Although, river Kosi has changed its course by 120 kms in last 250 years, this is probably the worst in terms of the geographical and demographical scales, besides loss of property.

Relief measures, foods and clothes were in abundant for adults but all of it seems to have forgotten the children of Bihar.

A team of 35 volunteers from Smile Foundation swung into action across the flood affected districts in north eastern Bihar. The team worked on facilitating relief logistics and coordinating with various groups working in the area.

The second team from Smile Foundation started its work from Sept. 10 in the identified districts of Madhepura, Saharsa, Araria and Purnia.

Children wait… for Little Help

Children below the age of five seem to be the worst victims of the flood and had missed the attention of us all!

Smile Foundation projected to cover 40,000 children in urgent need of nutrition supplement in the intervention areas.

Under the first lot 5,000 milk packets of 750 gm (Nestle make) have already been distributed. Each packet will support a child for 10 days on an average.

The small steps taken by Smile Foundation have brightened the lives of many sorrow ridden families. Smile Foundation is a path breaker when it comes to disaster management. Be it floods in Bihar or Orissa, the organization supplies relief and rehabilitation interventions with a unique and focused approach.


Orissa Flood

Smile Foundation came up with healthcare intervention which was the most urgent during the floods in Orissa.

‘Smile on Wheels’, a national level mobile hospital programme, has been working across eight states of India. The project is serving the districts of Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur in Orisa since 2006. During the flood, the mobile hospital has been working round the clock to reach out to the victims of flood in Orissa.
 
The mobile hospital is providing 24 hours medical relief to the victims by distributing medicines free of cost and giving free treatment for various water borne diseases like fever, cold diarrhea, dysentery and skin infections etc that are spreading widely with no preventive measures available at ease.

The havoc caused by river Mahanadi has taken to its grip about 2 million people. With 200 blocks out of 314 blocks of Orissa submerged with rushing waters, Smile on Wheels is travelling miles to reach out to maximum population with a special focus on children and women as they are the most vulnerable of all during such trying times.