Chennai, 14 December 2023:
SOS Children’s Villages India is pooling resources to extend essential support through flood relief materials to families affected by the Chennai floods. The flooding situation has left numerous families displaced, as their homes have been destroyed, leaving communities and many children grappling with the aftermath.
SOS Children’s Villages India has begun its intervention by supporting families covered under SOS India’s Family Strengthening Programme intervention. This covers over 120 families and directly impacts 220 children. The relief action has been possible because of the support and collaboration with local partners to ensure seamless, timely, and effective assistance to those in distress.
SOS India officials visited the relief camps to engage with the families and assess the immediate needs so that the right support can be provided. Feedback from the exercise helped in developing customised support. It was discovered that houses were damaged, and families were shifted to camps organised by the local ward.
SOS has provided primary relief through dry ration distribution and tarpaulin sheets for shelter support. As part of their humanitarian action and to ensure food security, they also distributed dry ration kits, including hygiene kits to over 230 families in Kamarajar Nagar, Kothandan Nagar, and East Tambaram.
Mr Sumanta Kar, CEO, SOS Children’s Villages India said, “We find it our moral duty to come to support our community when in need. In this case, we see many children have been affected along with their families, and as an organisation that exists to nurture and support children, we had to execute a relief plan. With this, we intend to provide support and comfort to the affected families.”
Simultaneously, SOS Children’s Villages India works closely with local authorities and community leaders to identify and further reach out to the most vulnerable families in and around Chennai. The organisation is committed to ensuring that relief materials are distributed efficiently and equitably to those needing them most.
SOS Children’s Villages India aims to give urgent support and help impacted families re-establish normalcy.