Achievements

Raising From the Rubble

Radhika Devi, a resident of Sukhi, a small village located at Belsand block of Sitamarhi district of Bihar aged 65 is a differently abled woman. She has 2 sons and 3 daughters who were married long ago. She belongs to BPL (Below Poverty Line) category and does not own any land or house. Her sons are illiterate owing to the family’s vicious poverty.

At present, Radhika Devi resides with her elder son Shatrughan Mahto, who is a father of 5 children (1 son & 4 daughters) and works as a daily wage labourer. With his meagre income, his family’s survival remains a daunting challenge.

The village Sukhi and its adjacent areas are highly vulnerable to multi-hazards as it lies in seismic zone V and close to river Bagmati. Broadly this village is highly prone to calamities like earthquakes and floods. While discussing her experience of catastrophic earthquake which occurred this year on 25 April, one cannot ignore the sense of pain and fear in the voice of Radhika Devi. Nepal earthquake, took away the lives of thousands of people in Nepal and also affected Bihar.

Radhika Devi’s collapsed mud and straw house has been remainder of the two big earth quakes that occurred in the month of April and May. Earthquake not only levelled their house to ground, they also lost whatever few belongings they had - utensils, mattresses, clothes, During CFW work daily utility items. A great sense of grief and hopelessness engrossed the whole family.

Even after months, family couldn’t free themselves from the fear of earthquake and struggled to bring their life back to previous standards. Earthquake brought Radhika Devi and her family’s mere survival bases to rubble and left them on their own fate to stand again.

The timely support of Cash for work under earthquake relief work, jointly coordinated by Samta Gram Seva Sansthan, Save the Children, Spain and Spainish foundation brought a ray of hope in her life. Her house was reconstructed under this support. This has not only ensured roof over their head but also brought positive psychological impact, invoking new zeal towards life and its challenges.