When heavy rain struck Andhra Pradesh, India in September, residents were utterly unprepared. The rain fell so heavily that the Krishna River surged and pushed water back into tributaries. Homes and towns situated on the banks of this waterway were devastated.
In Vijayawada, a city housing over two million people, the flooding took place overnight, catching residents off guard and unprepared. Families woke to a crisis and had to flee for safety – leaving behind their possessions, their home, and their livelihood.
“Vijayawada is a community where we have invested in individuals, provided support, and created pathways for brighter futures,” said Brandon Sosa, CEO of Barzilai Foundation. “When Kesava, our Program Advisor in India, brought forward the impact of the floods, we decided we could extend that commitment in Vijayawada, to support people facing barriers beyond their control.”
The Barzilai Foundation launched a grant fund for flood victims in Vijayawada, aiming to help the most vulnerable families lost everything. Kesava Majji, Program Advisor for the Barzilai Foundation, went to Vijayawada in the aftermath, spending significant time there helping families get back on their feet.
“Most of the families living on the ground floor of buildings got flooded completely,” Kesava said. “All of their possessions were damaged, many beyond use or repair. Beds, groceries, books, any appliances, all of these got drenched and useless in a few hours. The government collaborated with the army, and they started moving people to higher locations, but the damage still happened.”
Kesava met with hundreds of individuals, and the stories they told showed the trauma they’d been through. “Some people were forced to find any high points anywhere, to avoid being washed away and killed. People took refuge on rooftops and stayed there for days for help to come. In some areas, the water rose higher than the trees. There was nowhere else to go.”
The water didn’t recede for 15 days. The Barzilai Foundation created a grant fund that would help families in the most heavily impacted areas get back on their feet and begin to rebuild their lives. The recipient families had additional needs in their household, such as children pursuing education, or family members with medical needs.
“Emergency aid organizations were providing for immediate needs,” added Sosa. “Items like food, water, or blankets so families could survive. However, that aid falls short of putting families on a path to rebuild. So, we created a grant fund that would provide support that went beyond immediate needs and would allow families to begin the larger recovery process.”
Urgent Needs
The grants were distributed in two waves. The initial wave, providing grants for over 80 families, came in the days immediately following the flooding, when families were still struggling to meet basic living needs. Kesava visited over sixty homes to witness firsthand the needs of families applying for grants and how the support would help families restage their lives. Recipients in this initial wave covered immediate concerns – 60% of them used funds to buy mattresses – but parents also used the support to get their children back on track at school.
“School books, school bags, and uniforms, once those clothes are in flood waters for 3-4 days, they’re rotted and they’re now useless,” Kesava commented. “And for some people, they don’t have money to cover their children’s school fees. They lost everything and they don’t know how they’re going to pay the fees because whatever money they had for this was spent on immediate needs or literally got washed away.”
Another area requiring urgent attention was health. “During floods, a big issue is hygiene. The water brings all kinds of disease into the homes, and many people who fell ill and did not get treated immediately,” Kesava added. “In other cases, family members lost their medications in the flooding. The grants really helped them to get medicines and to recover or maintain their health.”
Rebuilding Support
The second wave of grants came in November. Kesava and the Barzilai Foundation returned to assess ongoing needs and provide grants to an additional 82 families. By this point, the most immediate needs like clothing and food were in part met, but obstacles still remained that obstructed people’s ability to make a living, return to school, or make ends meet financially.
“This flood impacted not just homes but also the surrounding businesses. When businesses get impacted, employees get impacted and there is no income,” Kesava said. “We saw individuals whose auto is dead and who had no money to repair it, but without the repair they are unable to earn income. We also met families who took out loans to meet their most urgent needs but now can’t afford the cost of those loans plus supporting their household. In many cases, necessary items for school were still needed, as families prioritized food, and dry bedding over these items and no money was left.”
In addition to meeting any remaining basic needs, this second wave of grants helped families and households overcome these lingering financial burdens that prohibited their ability to move forward.
Big Picture
In total, the grant program helped 164 families, reaching nearly 1,000 people.
“We’re deeply proud of the support we have provided in Vijayawada,” Sosa added. “To be able to help families reset the lives that they lost overnight and give them hope is quite a privilege. I am also grateful for the dedication and hard work of Kesava, who was able to be with these families, witness the destruction to their lives firsthand, and look them in the eye and offer them support.”
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