It all started with one woman’s thought — ‘Why not step out of home and do some real work?’ Kochi-based business woman Bindu Sathyajith decided to dive right in, quite literally, into rescue and relief work during the floods. Today, her group, called Do For Others (DFO) has over 300 people working on field and several others from across the globe providing technical support. “We started as an all-women’s team,” says Bindu, speaking over phone. Initially, she was joined by her friends Asha G Nair, Sujatha Menon, and Karthika Nair, and her movement soon grew in scale and strength to incorporate teams from Chennai and Bengaluru.
TOPSHOT - Indian People are airlifted by Navy personnel during a rescue operation at a flooded area in Paravoor near Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala on August 18, 2018. - Rescuers in helicopters and boats fought through renewed torrential rain on August 18 to reach stranded villages in India's Kerala state as the toll from the worst monsoon floods in a century rose above 320 dead. (Photo by - / AFP)
Among DFO’s notable efforts is the setting up of “72 bio toilets in 72 hours in Kuttanad,” according to Bindu. “We are working in coordination with the Coast Guard and Navy to air-lift people,” she adds. “One of the women we air-lifted was pregnant. She delivered within two hours of reaching the hospital.” The DFO team has worked across Kerala — including Kochi, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Munnar, and Thrissur.
“Right now, we have been joined in by medical teams from Mysore, Chennai, and Bengaluru,” says Bindu. “They have set up medical camps at various places.” Their focus now is on rehabilitation. “We have identified tribal villages in Wayanad and Kuttanad that are in dire need of support,” she says. “They have lost everything. Their houses have been completely destroyed.”
The floors, made of mud, are impossible to be slept on. “Which is why our priority is to provide them foldable cots,” explains Bindu. Her team has managed to get support for 100 families — 50 each at Wayanad and Kuttanad — and is looking for corporates to come forward to adopt more villages. Bindu doesn’t have the time for anything else, let alone worry for her safety. “My family is worried about me,” she says. “But it feels great to be doing this. At each place we travelled to, we managed to just make it. We crossed the Aluva river right on time when water flowed with unimaginable force. And at Wayanad too, we escaped many treacherous accidents,” she recalls. “All of us at DFO will be glad to die doing this.”
How you can help
The DFO team is putting together relief kits. They require:
Foldable cots
Beds
Pillows
Bed sheets
Kerosene stoves
Shirts and pants
Saris and petticoats
Rice
Containers to store provisions at home
For details, call 9946699000, 9946904268
Drop locations
Naturals Lounge, 27, South Boag Road, T Nagar
A26, Sunnyvale Apartments, A block, 2nd Floor, 351 Konnur High Road, Ayanavaram
Bamboola, 73, Venkata Krishna Road, RA Puram (Inside Shankar Nethralaya Eye Hospital’s compound)
