Stridians had responded whole heartedly to our appeal for supporting the people who were affected by the unprecedented disaster at Uttarakhand due to Himalayan Tsunami. We were able to mobilise the total corpus Rs.56.60 Lakhs which includes the matching grant from the management.

In consultation with the authorities (District Magistrate & Nodal officer, UNDMT representative at Dehradun)we focused on Anganwadi's, where we can provide support / help to the expecting mothers, new mothers, infants and children, including the initial schooling for children. This was also being in line with our Strides Foundation's objective of Education and Healthcare.

To take up our cause at the site we have engaged the NGO "Society for Inclusive Development" (SFID) to work with us on our project.
With the renewed focus, we approached the government of Uttarakhand to grant permission to construct Anganwadi's in 2 blocks i.e. Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag.

Accordingly we requested our contact SFID to do the preliminary study to ascertain the actual damage & the numbers we can take for Reconstruction, Repair / refurbishing. Based on this report we held discussions with ICDS authorities, United Nation Disaster Management Team, District Magistrate and it was decided to take up construction, repair and / or refurbishing of EIGHT (8) Anganwadi's in Purola block, Uttarkashi viz., Srikot, Mairana, Sunali, Nagjhala, Chandeli, Bichlamath, Kufara and Hudoli.

An MOU to this effect was signed between the Strides Foundation and Uttarakhand Government and obtained the necessary approvals, acquiring land, identifying a contractor and finalizing the structural designs against all odds of the location, climate etc.

Together with our identified partner, Society for Inclusive Development (SFID), the 4 dilapidated Anganwadis were razed and ground breaking ceremonies were held during May 2014. As per plan all the 8 Anganwadis would consist of a Main Hall, Kitchen, Store, Toilet and a verandah.

Status as on November '14 - The constructions at Sunali, Mairana, Srikot and Nagjhala has been completed. The 4 Anganwadis were inaugurated and handed over to the district authorities in a glittering function organised by the local Gram Pradhan at Sunali on November 12, 2014. The event was attended by the local MLA, Mr. Malchand, Mr . Suryakant Dhasmana, Leader of Congress in the area, dignitaries from the Government and local Panchayat, children and the other beneficiaries. Mr. Anil Jaggi, president of SFID was also present during the event.

Strides Foundation along with our NGO partner SFID will now take up the reconstruction of the remaining four Anganwadis at Chandeli, Kufara, Bichlamath and Hudoli in Uttarkashi district.

Click here to know the journey