Sewa International provided medical care, food, and grief counselling in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Uttarakhand
For the last one month, our team has been camping at the Tapovan power plant disaster site in Uttarakhand.  The team met hundreds of victims and the families of those missing/dead in the last couple of weeks. Asha Negi (name changed for privacy) is one of them.

Read more at: https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2021/03/sewa-international-uttarakhand-floods-relief-humanitarian

As we write this appeal, Prem Singh (name changed for privacy) is in a state of shock.

In the morning of 7 February, he had a conversation with his son, Prakash Singh (name changed for privacy) about getting some biscuits for their family tea shack in the village, on his way back to home.

As usual, Prakash left the home for his job as a contractual labourer with NTPC in the morning.

A few hours later, Prem Singh heard the loud thumping sounds of the river nearby. It was as if an entire mountain had broken, and the ground was trembling reminiscing of the 2013 floods.

Within minutes, the river ferociously swept the village, ramming everything in her way with massive rocks of stone and ice. All this happened within a span of 30 Read more......

Priority seems to be to clear tunnel and get dam functional rather than look for bodies, says activist.

Ten days after an avalanche barrelled down from a breaking glacier leading to the death of 58 people and causing at least 200 to go missing, rescue and relief operations aimed at recovering bodies have slowed to a crawl.

In Pictures | The aftermath of Uttarakhand glacier disaster

Many of those missing were reportedly workers on the Sunday shift at the 520-MW Tapovan Vishnugadh hydroelectric project and swept away by a storm of ice, water and debris within minutes of the glacier-wreckage hurtling from about 2 km up½stream.

The site is buzzing with excavators and other heavy machinery and has rescue officials of several companies working round the clock. Social organisations such as the SEWA International have organised volunteers from villages surrounding Tapovan to cook meals for them.

Read more....... https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/relief-operations-at-uttarakhand-disaster-site-come-to-a-crawl/article33862636.ece

The true essence of Yoga is mindfulness and awareness. As believed by many that yoga is a form of exercise for the body, on the contrary, it is the coming together and balancing of the Trinity - Of the mind, the body and the soul. With its emphasis on breath and the mindfulness, we inhale the virtues, the joys and exhale the vices and the stress of our lives. Our centres throughout India, especially in Uttarakhand where our SKVK centres in Chamoli, Rudraprayag as well as all of our 7 Model Training Centers namely PMKK Centers in Pauri, Haridwar, Dehradun, Tehri, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag saw great participation from all members of Sewa team who participated in various events on the eve of Yoga Day. Sewa Kashi project also witnessed a massive participation of volunteers, children, men, women, old and young alike, on International Yoga Day on 21st June 2018, practising the science of 'Yog', for a healthy and happy life.

Sewa International wishes everyone a very Happy Yoga Day.

As part of a Health and Hygiene initiative, Sewa International conducted a Review of Health Awareness Training for our informal health workers called Sewa Swasthya Mitra led by Dr. Viren Naik, who volunteered for this cause. The training focussed on evaluating the progress of the Swasthya Mitra, identifying gaps and opportunities for providing better health care. This program focusses on spreading awareness among tribal people of the hazards of leading an unhealthy, unhygienic lifestyle and promotes hygiene best practices among the community, along with offering free of cost common medicines for general ailments like fever, diarrhea etc. These informal health workers (Sewa Swasthya Mitra) bridge the gap between public healthcare institutes and underprivileged patients, who, due to lack of knowledge and accessibility to healthcare services, suffer to the extent of losing lives due to common ailments.

The Sewa Swasthya Mitra team visited the Hazacherra camp and the families residing there. The team interacted with the families, especially the womenfolk and children, making them aware of the benefits of a daily hygiene routine and healthy practices to help prevent diseases and lead a healthy lifestyle in general.

Medical Camps were also held in Hazacherra, Ashapara and Khakchangpara camps. 400+ bru tribals in camps were benefited through these camps. For the follow-up, they were referred to nearby hospitals as well as Swasthya Mitras were instructed to visit them regularly to see their improvement.

Sewa Mahila Jyoti vertical has been mainly providing 2 types of training which are:
1. Center-based training
2. Community-based training
Through centre based training, around 380 women have already completed their training from 6 different centers run by Sewa Mahila Jyoti. We have successfully organized community-based training in 9 villages of Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts in the state of Uttarakhand. In these training centres, a total of 131 women were collectively skilled so far. Currently, in 6 such community-based training centers, training sessions are in progress, benefitting around 31 women.

Recently, Sewa Uttarakhand began a 20 days community knitting camp in village Chandnikhal, Pokhari cluster on May 21st, 2018, in which 21 women have registered.

Apart from training in the skill of knitting, Sewa Mahila Jyoti has also trained 22 female beneficiaries of Subhai village, Tapovan, district Chamoli, for the production of Ringal (Bamboo) based products.

These training initiatives/programs will enhance the employability of these rural women and help us step closer towards our aim of a skilled Uttarakhand.