Gujarat earthquake, 2001

26 January 2001

On 26 January 2001 India's worst earthquake for 50 years struck the state of Gujarat. It killed an estimated 20,000 people and made millions homeless.In the worst affected areas, 95% of buildings were destroyed.

Y Care International's emergency response supported the local YMCA in the area, which was operating a community kitchen by the evening of the day after the disaster. It also distributed water supply tanks to cope with the acute shortage of drinking water.

The YMCA constructed a school in Junisunderpuri, a slum in the Gandhidham area, where the earthquake completely destroyed two of the school's three buildings.

In the village of Kharirohar classes were being held in tents until the YMCA-constructed school was completed. Both schools are earthquake-resistant, and the YMCA is also working to counter the problem of increasing school dropout rates.

The YMCA reconstructed a primary health centre and trained local women as health volunteers. A house building programme gave shelter to very poor communities in two villages in Anjartaluka, and in the villages of Sinogra and Nagalpur.

In all building work the YMCA employed local villagers to remove debris and clear the house sites for construction - providing them with an income and giving them an alternative to migrating into big cities to look for work.

The YMCA also developed self-employment initiatives to encourage self-sufficiency. Gujarat is famous for handicrafts and embroidery, and 20 women began training in tailoring and paper plate making in the months after the disaster, before being given the materials they needed to restart work.

Farmers were also helped to expand their agricultural work and increase food security, and the YMCA is supporting people to be financially independent so they do not have to rely on private moneylenders.