Millions of inhabitants of the coastal regions of Orissa, India, will always remember Oct 29, 1999 as Black Friday. That day one of the worst cyclones in India's history made landfall at Paradip, a major port city of the state. The cyclone with winds between 160-180 mph punished Paradip's 80,000 people for 36 harrowing hours. It then moved on to ravage thousands of square miles in about 15 coastal districts, causing tidal waves 30-35 feet high accompanied by torrential rain. The cyclone ended but the tragedy had only just begun to unfold.
Red Cross officials stated on Nov 9th that the death toll would climb above 10,000. Most relief agencies believe the final figure will be closer to 20,000 (BBC). But the true figure may never be known as many of those who died will never be found. In excess of ten million people were rendered homeless. Overall, 20 million people were affected. 90-100% of the crops were destroyed and millions of livestock perished. The property damage cannot even begin to be estimated.(CNN, AP)
At first, the extensive damage to the road, rail and communication networks cut the affected areas off from the rest of the country completely. To make matters worse, high winds and continuous rain constrained aerial operations delaying the start of relief efforts.
Weeks after the cyclone first swept through, the rotting bodies of humans and animals were still polluting the water sources and there were outbreaks of gastroentritis and diarrhoea. Starvation deaths have been reported as the inadequate relief supplies fail to reach all the victims.
A group of non-government organizations (NGO's) and individuals, called the Orissa Disaster Mitigation Mission (ODMM) was formed to facilitate non-governmental efforts to carry on the mission of relief and livelihood restoration for all the cyclone affected areas. International donor agencies are also supporting the relief operations. Distribution of relief supplies like Food, Shelter, Clothes and Medicines is being done by the Red Cross Society, Lutheran World Service, CARE, OXFAM, World Food Programme, Evangelical Society, World Vision, Action Aid, Medicines Sans Frontiers(MSF), IGSSS and Plan International.
ODMM's mission is threefold:
The constituent NGOs of the mission have ALREADY been active in various districts of the State for developmental activities. They are now using their local expertise and volunteer network to supply relief and report on the status.
ODMM is working closely with the government to avoid duplication of efforts. They are releasing daily bulletins on the status of each affected district, progress of relief operations and a detailed account of the money coming in to their organization as well as how it is being spent.
The Association for India's Development (AID) has set up an "Indian Cyclone Relief Fund" to collect money for the Orissa cyclone victims. We have been working closely with Adhikar, an NGO which is part of ODMM, to do developmental work in Orissa. Using the same excellent trust relationship, we are now directing our donations to this NGO. We are in constant touch with them to ensure that 100% of the money being donated is being used in the most effective manner.
Since the need of the hour is immediate relief, AID-State College with the assistance of the Indian Student Association (ISA), the Indian community in State College and the American Red Cross started a two week campaign to collect money for the cyclone victims. The campaign got off to a good start on Nov 7, when the attendees of the preliminary meeting spontaneously contributed $ 353 towards the "Indian Cyclone Relief Fund".
The following fund-raising initiatives were planned for this effort which ended on Nov 19.
Every dollar you contribute matters. As little as $ 25 supplies food for about 35 families. So please donate generously.
Contributions to AID should be made as follows:
Contributions to the American Red Cross should be made as follows:
Please contact one of the following to see how you can help :
| Name | Home phone | Work phone | |
| Kavitha | 237-2630 | 865-5805 | nkavi99@hotmail.com |
| Shailabh | 861-8700 | 863-1262 | nagar@cse.psu.edu |
| Vamsi | 862-1711 | 865-2442 | vamsi@vxv4.rh.psu.edu |
| Vithal | 237-6480 | 865-1920 | shirodka@cse.psu.edu |
| Hema | 237-4972 | 865-2702 | hxs186@psu.edu |
