Seniors in Chennai Lend a Helping Hand

During the devastating floods of December 2015, senior citizens in Chennai too lent a helping hand in where they could. We share some of their stories here and look forward to more from our readers…

A Facebook post went viral during the devastating Chennai Floods of December 2015. A son had proudly shared the story of his dad who refused to leave Chennai for the safety of his son’s residence in another city. His reason? There were several people working towards helping others who had been severely affected and despite his age the gentleman wanted to stay back and lend a hand in the rescue efforts too.

As the waters rose in Chennai, inundating roads, bridges and homes, we heard numerous stories of bravery in the face of extreme odds by volunteer groups and relief teams. Stories that renewed our faith in goodness and humanity. Most of these stories were of younger people but we also heard snippets of senior citizens in Chennai, like the gentleman above, who went out of their way to help others, whether by providing them shelter in their homes or going out to the flood affected areas themselves and helping with the relief work. No effort is big and small and we decided to share their stories too.

NR Kumar, 66, never thought his 75 year old ancestral home would become a refuge for so many. Luckily for him, his house did not face any water logging or seepage and was able to provide shelter to many family and friends whose residences came under water. Among these were his 72 year old friend and wife who were suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and were unable to take care of themselves in the absence of a nurse who found it difficult to commute in the rains. But what changed everything for Kumar was when he stepped out and saw how badly the slum dwellers in the nearby areas were affected. He decided to offer whatever help he could manage. “We distributed some clothing and then realised there was a need for food, so we organised for idli flour and served food to the 13 affected houses we came across for a week,” says Mr Kumar, adding that despite the water level and the state of despair, dealing with the flood-affected was a humbling experience for him when he saw their grace in the face of distress. He shares three instances: “Kumar , who runs an ironing shop, near my house shifted out of his house in Saidapet as his house near the Adyar river was flooded. He shifted with his wife, two grown up daughters and grandchildren. He took shelter in the car park of a bank opposite his shop. When we enquired about his accommodation, Kumar expressed complete satisfaction. I could see from the expression on his face that he was actually more than satisfied about his shelter. I wonder whether Mukesh Ambani has a similar satisfaction about his home. The residents of the slum used to queue up with a plate to collect the food. On a particular day a young lady was serving the food along with me. When she finished that her own plate was empty. While the immediate response was one of anguish, she immediately recovered and said that it did not matter as her son got the food. On the last day the food that we carried was in excess of the requirement of the slum, as my Sister shanthi had also stepped in and we carried twice the normal volume. One of the platform dwellers, a lady after picking up her quota, made available plastic plates, cups etc., from her meagre possessions, so that we could serve breakfast to other people around her.”

Singaram Subramanian and his wife Vasugi Singaram didn’t think twice before venturing out to inundated areas to survey the situation before they offered help. Singaram, an entrepreneur in his late 60s and his wife S. Vasugi, run a charitable trust called Essvee Foundation, which has been working with poor students to provide scholarships and running a community college. Vasugi, a retired teacher, has been working with visually impaired students for the last 33 years. The floods and its aftermath saw the Singarams joining forces to help people in the affected areas in a methodical and practical manner. They visited waterlogged neighbourhoods in the vicinity of Poondhamalle area and on the banks of Chembarambakkam lake and provided tokens to the people there to distribute relief materials in a systematic manner.

“We felt they needed plastic floor mats and blankets the most, so we made a kit for distribution,” Mr Subramanian adds. Each kit contained one plastic mat, one blanket and chlorine tablets that help in purifying the water. According to the Singarams, blankets are a much needed item, especially in the interior areas that are not easily accessible and plastic mat work well as it does not get wet and is long lasting, while water purification tablets are useful to avoid major epidemic outbreaks.

To ensure smooth distribution, the couple started the process from a community college run by them in the vicinity of the

affected villages. “We went to villages in an around 5 km of the college with volunteers and we issued tokens after verifying identities. In two or three days we had covered 500 people, who came to the college to pick up the relief material,” Mr Singaram adds. With an aim to help over 2000-3000 families, they have already distributed over 1000 blankets and kits and partnered with the Tamilnadu Foundation, a US based non profit, to provide utensils along with the relief kit to the needy. If you wish to know more about their work or wish to contribute, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/chennairelief-pdx or http://www.essvee.org/. 

Like the Singarams, K.S.Ramamurthy, 82, could not watch the devastation without pitching in to help. He mobilised all resources under his organisation, Society for the Development of Economically Weaker Section (SODEWS) that addresses education, health, environmental and livelihood themes in rural areas. “In association with AidIndia Chennai, we provided food and clothing in the badly affected Cuddalore District, among other areas,” says this active senior who commutes from Yelagiri Hills, where he resides, to supervise the work. So far, Mr Ramamurthy has been able to raise more than 25 lakhs and his organisation is working towards other rehabilitation efforts. “My greatest focus would be to re-establish the schools as the floods affected schools too and shut down classrooms,” says Mr Ramamurthy, who is passionate about education and has helped many tribal children in the Yelagiri Hills area get educated through his organisation. At present, his organisation is in the process of assessing the post flood damage and identifying needs and budgets to build shelters that can help both house and educate. To know more or to help, visit their page on https://www.facebook.com/Sodews/

These are but a few instances of senior citizens going beyond the call of duty to help others in their times of need. We would be honoured to publish stories of other senior citizens involved in such efforts with details of their work. If you have come across a senior helping the volunteers with relief work or who lend a helping hand during the Chennai floods, please do share their stories with us on connect@silvertalkies.com.

— By Reshmi Chakraborty