FOCUS
Alleviating Hunger
Creating Economic Opportunities
Promoting Health and Fighting Disease
Disaster Response

MDGs ADDRESSED
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 
MDG 8: Create a global partnership for development

OVERVIEW
The Malda and South Dinajpur districts in India’s West Bengal region are heavily dependent on agricultural production for food and income. In 2006, the region experienced unprecedented drought during the 2006 monsoon season, devastating the rice crop. Acres of paddy fields dried up, creating food shortages. The average income in the area is $20/month per family. It’s estimated 60% of children do not go to school because their labor is needed at home and in the fields.

Our PARTNER
Episcopal Relief and Development is partnering is the Diocese of Durgapur of the Church of North India, which serves eight districts in the state. The diocese has 32 pastorates with 152 congregations and more than 11,000 communicant members. 95% of churches of the diocese are rural and members are predominantly from tribal and Dalit communities.

Episcopal Relief and Development is also partnering with the Church of North India (CNI) on the final phase of the 2004 tsunami disaster relief program in the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. CNI is a union of churches of varying traditions that comprises 26 dioceses with 1.5 million members.

Our CURRENT PROGRAMS
Episcopal Relief and Development’s partnership with the Diocese of Durgapur began in 2006 with an immediate relief response to the drought of that year. In 2006, the diocese identified 100 families and provided food rations for 3 months and farming materials (seeds and fertilizer). Through a series of community meetings, the diocese also initiated the establishment of cooperatives to install 34 water pumps in drought-stricken areas.

Episcopal Relief and Development is assisting the diocese in establishing the Samadi Community Development Centre in the Bankura District, which will address needs including agriculture, income generation, clean water, sanitation, and primary health. A Village Development Committee will be created to oversee and administer projects.

Episcopal Relief and Development is continuing its work in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a remote territory situated in the Bay of Bengal over 800 miles southeast of the Indian sub-continent. The tsunami killed over 3,500 people on the islands, contaminated water sources, and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. Episcopal Relief and Development is completing the third and final phase of programs to rebuild communities and create economic opportunities for those affected by the disaster.

Alleviating Hunger
Episcopal Relief and Development is working with the Diocese of Durgapur in the Bakura District to enhance the capacity of residents to improve their food supply.

• Workshops provide training in sustainable agriculture techniques.

Creating Economic Opportunities
Episcopal Relief and Development is providing long-term solutions to achieve economic stability in 10 villages in the Bankura district. A village development committee and women’s self-help groups provide training and access to micro-finance opportunities.

• A micro-finance program allows women to start small businesses to increase family income.

Promoting Health and Fighting Disease
Episcopal Relief and Development is addressing the health care needs in Bakura District through participatory community planning.

• Community workshops allow residents to determine the critical health care needs in their villages, including primary health, sanitation, and clean water.

Disaster Relief
Episcopal Relief and Development is supporting on-going recovery projects in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that help families and communities rebuild their homes, schools, churches and achieve long-term economic stability. In the Nicobars, Episcopal Relief and Development’s strategy has been to support the communal social structures and work directly with the Tribal Council to plan and implement programs. Community participatory planning, incorporation of local materials and architecture, and cooperative economic ventures are all part of this strategy.

• Women’s cooperatives manage 15 stores that provide basic goods and household products for the tribal communities in the Nicobars.
• Backyard poultry farms give women opportunities to improve their families’ food supply and earn income.
• Counseling services, provided by trained mentors and community facilitators, assist those who suffer on-going trauma as a result of the tsunami.
• School reconstruction projects provide communities in the Nicobars with new or rebuilt primary, secondary, and senior secondary schools.
• Community study centers, managed by residents and monitored by village education committees, offer educational and recreation opportunities and nutritious meals for 1,500 children.

Our PAST ACHEIVEMENTS
In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, Episcopal Relief and Development provided food, shelter, medicines, materials, and other assistance to the Church of North India in responding to needs in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Episcopal Relief and Development’s on-going partnership in the long-term recovery program also included:

• Supporting relief operations in 15 villages on Car Nicobar and distributing relief materials to 85 different camps.
• Providing emergency food aid to over 8,000 people.
• Distributing 350 sets of carpentry and masonry tools to assist in rebuilding.
• Covering freight costs for 75 shipments of donated medicines to re-stock local clinics.
• Rebuilding 257 homes in North Andaman.
• Providing 132 temporary shelters for families in four Nicobar villages.
• Establishing women’s cooperatives and providing training for the 376 women involved.
• Securing a team of professional counselors from Partnership for People to provide counseling training for community members and establishing local treatment and referral process.
• Providing start-up funds for community study centers in 15 villages.
• Launching a comprehensive plan to reconstruct up to 36 schools in the Nicobar Islands.

In drought affected districts of West Bengal, Episcopal Relief and Development’s established water sources for agricultural use.

• Installed submersible water pumps in 11 villages in 2006, ensuring that the communities had adequate water to irrigate their crops.
• Established 34 village cooperatives representing 252 families to discuss problems and mobilize the community to address these issues.