PwC India Foundation helps rehabilitate Cyclone Fani victims
PwC India Foundation has helped restore sanitation facilities for approximately 300 families in the Indian state of Odisha, which was hit by Cyclone Fani earlier this year. The new facilities were recently inaugurated at an event that was attended by the local Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA).
Cyclone Fani hit in April this year, and was the worst cyclone to have hit the state of Odisha in the last two decades. The storm was devastating for life and property, with over 1 million people being evacuated from coastal regions at the time. Restoration efforts have been underway ever since.
Humanitarian response and rehabilitation, as well as water sanitation and hygiene are among the central focus areas for the PwC India Foundation, which has been supporting victims of natural disasters since its establishment in 2008. The foundation has now completed the restoration of facilities for 300 families.
Restorations included the development of sanitation facilities, provisions for safe drinking water and the establishment of masonry training camps to rehabilitate livelihood. Most of the restoration process was carried out by members of the community themselves, with backing from the PwC India Foundation and supervision from Odisha-based water sanitation NGO Gram Vikas.
The facilities are now renovated, and have been handed over to the families in a ceremony attended by Jatni constituency MLA Suresh Kumar Routray and PwC India Chairman Shyamal Mukherjee.
Speaking at the occasion, Mukherjee said, “As part of our corporate social responsibility initiatives, our aim is to identify the communities that are most in need, provide timely relief and make a difference to them in a meaningful way, providing what they need the most.”
“Through this project, our two-fold objectives are to provide safe drinking water, which is one of the most basic human needs – and to help create secure, sustainable livelihoods for the people of the three villages. It is not about big or small steps, every step counts. We believe these steps will help the men, women and children of these villages in the most direct manner.”
PwC has been engaged in rehabilitation efforts in a number of disaster-affected areeas in recent years. Prior to these efforts in Odisha, the foundation was active after the Kerala floods in 2018 and the West Bengal floods in 2018. In the water sanitation space, the foundation equipped two Bengaluru schools with gender-segregated toilets and hand washing facilities in July this year.