Nobody in Mumbai needs to be reminded of the devastation caused by the recent unprecedented rains on the 26^th and 27^th July 05. So many people have suffered so much and it will be a long time before the full costs can be accurately estimated.  

The Women’s India Trust (“WIT”) is just one of many organizations to have been cruelly hit by this year’s monsoon, but few can have felt the full force of the damage or now be in such stark need as WIT’s production center at Panvel. It is here that so much of the  work of educating and providing employment for poor and needy women takes place -  our food production center, block printing, screen printing and toy making, the free nursing course for young girls, the kindergarten  and the Day Care Centre for babies.  

The flood damage   has been nothing short of catastrophic. Most of our produce and material – fruits and fabrics – have been washed away; so have the gas cylinders and connections and inevitably, we have been without electricity and drinking water ; the facilities in the canteen, the Balwadi and the Day Care Centre – babies’ cots, chairs, cooking utensils – are all gone; the retaining wall separating our premises from the creek collapsed as flood waters rose to 7.5 feet.  

But it is not just the loss of plant and equipment that has had such a dire effect. Our lady workers, many of whom have lost their homes and are left with no more than the cloths they stand up in, cannot work until the premises are restored. They cannot work; they cannot earn. And in so many cases, they alone are the family’s breadwinners.  

Our wage workers came from the surrounding areas and villages such as  Shirdhon, Wadghar, Patel Mohlla and other parts of Raighad District. The women living in  near the creek  have lost all their household belonging and some are homeless.  

WIT  have been able to assist only  few women and their families  with  immediate basic necessities which were required like stove, mats, bed sheets, towels, old and new clothes, water filter, rice, dal, sugar, oil and immediate preventive medication. This contribution is just a drop in an ocean. We still have many more to assist .  

We have already started the process of ensuring   that rehabilitation   happens quickly .The WIT Centre in Panvel is being cleaned up and is partially   functional since 8^th August. This will ensure   that their live hood is not hampered. We are providing one cooked meal and tea to all our workers   for the next few weeks till they are able to fend for themselves.  We are also conducting a survey of severely affected families, assisting them with the relief provided by various agencies   , helping them to help themselves by supportive measures through counseling and medical aid whenever  required. But there is still so much to be done.  

We need 50 lakhs to repair our Panvel production center. And we need help. Your help. As an NGO we are obviously short of funds. Until and unless we can get our centre Panvel up and running again, our workers cannot work. The cost of this repair will be counted in rupees; failure to achieve this aim may mean the cost will be counted in lives. 

Attached are photographs (image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4, image 5, image 6, image 7, image 8)

WIT activities can be viewed on www.wit.org.in  

Please help in whatever way you can.  

Please draw your cheque / DD , in any denomination and any currency, favouring “WOMEN’S INDIA TRUST” and post it to 110/111 New Udyog Mandir, Moghul Lane, Mumbai 400 016, INDIA .   

Name ………………………………………………….  

Address ……………………………………………………………………………….  

Amount …………………………  

Cheque No. ……………………… Bank & Branch………………………………….  

Photographs of the  Devastation caused by the flooding at the WIT Centre and the state of the areas where our workers live in Raighard district

Shyamla Nath

Chief Executive 

Women's India Trust,

110/111 New Udyog Mandir, Moghul Lane,

Mahim (W), Mumbai 16

Ph   022 24462506

Fax  022 24462768 
wit@hathway.com  

www.wit.org.in