Journalism of Courage
A web of 4,000 volunteers that includes 12 year-olds to police officers,doctors and teachers,and a will to lend a helping hand is what drives the Bhoi Foundation. Their main objective is to provide relief to places that have been struck by natural disasters,but there is one big difference. “Once disaster strikes,the affected area receives a lot of coverage and help from various NGOs,the government and the media. But this lasts only for about two months,then places and their problems lay forgotten. We don’t do that; our association with the disaster affected areas is long-term, says Dr Milind Bhoi,founder of the NGO that has been active since 1994.
They have been working with the flood affected villagers of Helwak of Koyna Nagar for around five years now. They have also finished building a educational complex for the children of the village. “We still go there every year for Raksha Bandhan. We have emotional ties with those people, says Dr Bhoi.
During their four-day trip over there which was arranged in association with Umang Foundation,they visited Chitri,Ghota,Utavali,Koat,Beradabalda,Dhabiya and Jampani. While on this journey,they learnt of a small tribal village in the interiors called Bhulori. This village had faced a huge fire and most of the village had been raized to the ground. Subhash Sarpale,one of the members who visited the village along with Deepak Bansari and Kumar Renuse,feels that the condition of Bhulori is deplorable. “Forget everything else,these people don’t even have access to water. They have to walk more than five kilometres in order to drink water, says he.
The villagers there are sleeping under the trees for shelter,they have lost everything. The children are roaming around without any clothes on,the little they had has also gone and all the help they received from the government is a Rs 1,000 per adult. Their children weren’t even considered. This is the amount with which they are supposed to reconstruct their lives. When the children saw the clothes,they burst into a dance,that is how happy they were seeing something so basic, said an emotional Dr Bhoi.
The Bhoi Foundation plans to continue aiding this village by sending them supplies and providing them help in order to rebuild their houses. Anyone who wishes to contribute can contact Dr Milind Bhoi directly at 9823047544.
