Others

Disaster Intervention

Any disaster be it man-made or natural, children are the most affected. We experienced it during devastating earthquake of Kutch in 2001 and the communal riots of 2002. In Gujarat, First Response Team was formed to respond immediately in time of such disasters. Shaishav is also a core-group member of this team which consists of medical, Para-medical and social activists. Shaishav members are trained to respond to emergency situations.

We spent two years in Kutch during which we worked on relief and rehabilitation of children, particularly on protection issues and providing supportive education to children. In the initial phase, we collaborated with other organisations to focus on medical relief and rehabilitation. As the situation became stabilised, we moved on to start centres which provide basic education and also set up a round- the -clock free helpline service called "Childline" for children in need of help.

In June 2002, during the monsoon season, all the low lying areas in Bhavnagar were flooded heavily. Shaishav worked hand in hand with the local network "Bhausetu" to support in shifting the affected people to safe areas and provided food ration and medical care