The coastal areas of Kanyakumari district are vulnerable to tropical cyclones, tidal waves and recurrent floods. It has also suffered much due to a massive Tsunami a decade ago. Hence, OCD has involved itself in creating preparedness for disasters among the coastal community and in empowering the community to involve in search, rescue and relief efforts in the event of a disaster.

The objectives of OCD in this regard are:-

• To create awareness on issues related to disasters and to capacitate the coastal communities of Kanyakumari district..
• To prepare the Fisherwomen Head Load Fish Vendors Federation (FHVF) to initiate action at the community level to mitigate the impacts of disasters.
• To develop a cadre of task force with the involvement of women at village level with knowledge and skills to perform in the event of disaster.
• To develop a resource base for collection and dissemination of information pertaining to vulnerable areas and disasters in the coastal area

OCD’s disaster response to the Ochki cyclone was supported by Association eu can aid! AISBL-Belgium

Ochki cyclone devastated the coastal villages of Kanyakumari district in November, 2017. One Hundred and Forty Six lives were lost and the loss of property and belongings was immense. This unprecedented disaster had a numbing effect on the minds of the survivors and they could not recover from the trauma. To help them resolve their loss and to enable them to build back their lives, OCD organized psychosocial counseling camps in 8 coastal villages for affected families. 128 families benefitted and OCD carried out follow up visits to their individual homes to ensure their progress.

The massive destruction unleashed by the cyclone resulted in the loss of entire belongings of hundreds of families. The poorest of these victims were the families of the women head load fish vendors. They could not afford to build back their lives. 62 such head load fish vendors were provided skill trainings in production of value added fish products such as fish pickles, fish chutney powder and dry fish. To enable them to resume their occupation, they were provided microcredit on easy terms. With the new skills in fish processing, they are now able to earn INR 4000 more than what they were earning earlier. Thus the rehabilitation efforts of OCD enabled them to rebuild their lives on a better level. This project was supported by Association eu can aid! AISBL-Belgium

1. Awareness Campaign through Power Point Presentation: Before the lock down period, this campaign provided awareness to 2000 participants from 12 coastal villages.

2. Tele Awareness: During the lock down period “Tele Awareness” program covered 4000 households.

3. Emergency Relief: Food provisions for 2 months together with a hygiene kit were provided to 520 families. OCD was supported by TEBTEBBA FOUNDATION – PAWANKA FUND, MICROCREDIT FOR MOTHERS FOUNDATION, EU CAN AID, GLOBAL COMPASSION INC., as well as local well wishers.

4.  Microcredit: With the support of MICROCREDIT FOR MOTHERS FOUNDATION, OCD was able to provide partial write-off of loans availed by women head load fish vendors and to provide fresh loans for revival of livelihoods.

5.  Survey Research: A detailed study on structural discrimination and social and economic exclusion of the Christian minority ‘Mukkuvar’ indigenous community was conducted with the support of MINORITY GROUP INTERNATIONAL.