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Bharatiya Jain Sanghathana built the first school within 12 hours of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat. It then went on to rebuild 626 schools in 444 villages across the state, giving thousands of children a stable environment and hope for the future
On January 26, 2001 an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale struck Gujarat, leaving 16,487 dead and injuring 1,46,743 people. Eight years earlier, a similar tragedy struck Latur, Maharashtra. The Latur earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale killed 7,938 people and injured 16,000. Amidst the death, destruction and rubble in both places, the Bharatiya Jain Sanghathana (BJS), a Pune-based voluntary organisation, worked to repair the damage and rekindle hope. After the immediate rescue and relief operations the organisation chose to focus on the educational needs of the children, rebuilding numerous schools in Gujarat and in Latur.
After the Gujarat quake the majority of the children were in a state of shock. They needed more than food, shelter and medicines. They needed to go back to their school routine; to unlearn the past and build their future. This was the aim of BJS in rebuilding 626 school buildings and 1,414 classrooms in 444 villages across the state.
Led by social worker and president of BJS Shantilal Mutha, the organisation teamed up with the Jalgaon-Khandesh Bhookamph Sahayata Trust to launch the Gujarat Educational Rehabilitation Project. Headquartered in Bhachau, the project involved restoring schools in Kutch, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surendranagar districts of Gujarat. A sum of Rs 8.5 crore was collected.
Immediately after the quake, five construction teams, each comprising civil engineers, electricians, supervisors, masons, carpenters and other skilled personnel, were sent by BJS to rebuild the schools. School rooms measuring 380 sq ft and capable of accommodating 30 students were constructed. The buildings were based on firm cement-concrete plinths, and the walls of the school were made of lightweight prefabricated polycarbonate sheets affixed on an iron structure. Well-known Ahmedabad-based architect BV Doshi, Keshav Desai from Pune and Shirish Barve from Jalgaon were consulted on the design and materials that would ensure the new schools were quake and cyclone-resistant.
Thirteen days after the quake, the first school was ready in Samakhyari village. "We received an overwhelming response from the villagers and that motivated us to spread this work elsewhere," said Shantilal Mutha.The volunteers speeded up the school project in view of the impending board examination. Sister AC Fabula, principal of Mount Carmel School, Gandhidham, where BJS constructed 24 rooms to accommodate 2,000 children in two shifts said, "About 300 students gave board exams from these newly- constructed school-rooms."
The organisation overcame numerous obstacles to realise their goal. " First, there was a shortage of labourers and construction material. We were able to get some workers from nearby areas like Morvi and Rajkot, but almost 60 per cent ran away fearing another major earthquake. Then, whatever construction material we could get was stolen during the night hours. There was no water and electricity and I had to buy generators before we could start construction," Shantilal recalled.
Apart from reconstruction of schools, the organisation provided other forms of assistance. On January 29, BJS sent 150 youngsters, armed with clothes, blankets and food to help the quake victims. These youngsters had themselves been rescued after the Latur quake and rehabilitated in Pune. They could provide the emotional and psychological support required after the immediate physical needs were met. "We have all gone through the same experience and we feel our presence itself would provide some relief for the victims by sending the message that life can still be rebuilt," stated Kamlesh Panchal, a team member.
In 1993, after the earthquake in Latur and Osmanabad, the organisation along with the World Bank established a rehabilitation centre for 1,200 quake-hit children in Wagholi, near Pune in Maharashtra. The Wagholi Educational Rehabilitation Centre (WERC) includes a hostel for 800 children, a school, and a college complex for education in arts, science and commerce streams and a technical training institute to impart basic engineering skills relevant to the rural setting.
WERC also houses 250 boys from Melghat, a perpetually famine-affected area in the Amravati district of Maharashtra, who were chosen to join this special institute. Every year hundreds of young children die of starvation in Melghat. Despite relief provided by the government and other welfare agencies, there has been no perceptible improvement in the condition of the tribal populace, especially children, in this area. BJS took a long-term view of this problem and selected boys studying in the fifth and sixth standards. These boys would complete their studies at WERC, imbibing the values and knowledge required to handle social issues when they got back to their native villages.
Buoyed by the success of the Latur experiment, the organisation quickly responded to the plight of children affected by the earthquake in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in 1997. Fifty children were selected and arrangements were made to have them attend a Hindi-medium school in Pune.
BJS has also prepared blueprints of semi-temporary shelters for calamity-hit areas. According to the plans, four depots to house such shelters would be set up in the four corners of Maharashtra. These screw-mounted shelters can be moved and raised in any part of the country within the first 12 hours of a disaster. The depots would be located at suitable spots from where these semi-temporary buildings could be transported to any part of the state and to other states.
The Bharatiya Jain Sanghathana has been working in various parts of Maharashtra and Chattisgarh for the last 17 years. The organisation has 367 branches in these two states.
Contact: Bharatiya Jain Sangathana
184/4, Shivaji Nagar
Dnyaneshwar
Paduka Chowk
F C Road, Pune - 411 005.
Tel: 91-20-5535080, 5535432, 5535525
Fax: 91- 20-5535524.
Email:
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Website: www.bjsearthquakerelief.org |
