May-June 2009: Cyclone Aila Relief
On May 24th 2009, Cyclone Aila struck West Bengal at full force. Its course went straight through the Sundarbans, the world’s largest Mangrove forest and home of the renowned Royal Bengal Tiger. Cyclonic winds reached above 90 km per hour and devastated the south of West Bengal, a region composed of numerous remote villages. Aila had hit some of the poorest in our world.
Within days, Pratit mobilized for an emergency relief mission in the region. Our team members arrived on the scene to see unfathomable devastation as famine and disease spread rampantly. Pratit’s first relief mission lasted twenty hours as we went deep into the Sundarbans by boat to reach the most remote villages. There we provided much needed food supplies, fresh water, and essential medicines. After that first mission, our team continued relief efforts in the region by conducting medical camps that attracted hundreds of patients. We treated numerous cases of diarrhea, malnutrition, water-borne abdominal infections, skin diseases, and many more.
May-June 2008: Pratit’s First Major Project
Pratit’s first large scale humanitarian mission was conducted in May 2008 in the slums of Calcutta, India. With a budget of about $5000 USD, we conducted free medical camps in five slum areas. Our services provided free health check-ups, generic medications, and nutritional food packets to over 500 people.
We also funded the life-saving medical care of two children in critical conditions:
- Shib Nath Das, a two year-old boy suffering from Hydrocephalous disease, received a long yet successful ventriculo-peritoneal shunting surgery.
- Pooja Das, a ten year old girl who suffered from Atrial Septal Defect received funding for conservative treatment.