Dubai: Indian expat Shyju PV has been working in the UAE for 20 years. A power plant mechanic in Dubai, he finally built his dream home back in Kerala last year. Just four months ago, he brought over his wife and son to live with him over here.
When the Sharjah resident watched a TikTok video about the ‘Support Wayanad: Relocate Homeless’ project launched by some of the ‘UAE rain heroes’ on Saturday, it struck a chord with him. The project urges expats from the South Indian state to offer their vacant houses and other properties back home for the temporary relocation of the Wayanad landslide victims living in relief camps.
Thousands are reportedly sheltered in relief camps after two massive landslides that claimed hundreds of lives left them homeless on July 30.
“I felt joining the Support Wayanad project is the perfect way in which I could support the survivors of the devastating landslides,” Shyju told Gulf News.
He said he spoke to his wife and his brother back home at once. “They supported my idea of registering my house for the relocation project.”
Ever since Shyju’s wife Vidhya and son Ankit came over to the UAE, it is his brother’s family who help with the maintenance of his two-storey house back home.
“It is a new house with all the facilities. We will mark one year after our house warming ceremony on 26th of this month only. We will be happy if it can shelter any family suffering from the trauma of losing everything in the landslides.”
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Huge response
Shyju is one of the Keralite expats in the UAE to register first with the website named Support Wayanad. Within days of unveiling the website, the project has received the registration of over 150 homes with the capacity to relocate around 780 people, said Dubai resident Muneer Al Wafaa.
The Rain Support UAE group, which united around 6,000 volunteers in April, was the brainchild of Muneer. He launched the Support Wayanad project in association with Deepu AS, Faizal Bin Muhammed and Amal Gireesh, three active volunteers of the group who became friends after the volunteering activities post the heaviest rainfall in the UAE.
“We are amazed by the overwhelming response to our project. We would like to salute the Malayalees who offered their own homes for those in pain”, said Muneer.
Those who registered their vacant homes for the project include expats from other GCC countries and Keralites residing in the state as well.
Muneer said the team has handed over the data collected through the website to the government officials in charge of rehabilitation operations in Wayanad.
“Kerala Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh has assured us that the government will be looking into our project seriously. We are also in touch with other top officials coordinating the rehabilitation of the survivors.”
Task force of volunteers
Meanwhile, the Support Wayanad team has also formed a task force of volunteers back in Kerala to facilitate the government agencies in implementing the project.
“We have an almost 100-member task force. These volunteers are helping us to do the necessary checks to ensure the smooth implementation of the project.”
Challenges ahead
There are two challenges that the project faces. “The registrations have come more from districts other than Wayanad. We don’t know how many survivors would be ready to relocate to other districts as they might have to keep travelling to Wayanad for various purposes. We are trying to reach out to more expats from Wayanad to see if we can arrange the temporary shelters closer to the disaster-hit areas,” said Muneer.
The second challenge is to arrange food and other essential items for the relocated survivors as well as help them with utility bills. The Support Wayanad team said they are also contacting members of the local administration wings to make arrangements for these.
Meanwhile, Shyju said he was not expecting the rehomed family to pay utility bills. “I can take care of all that. I am sure my family members back home, neighbours and other people in my village will also support them with other essentials.”
He said he was only concerned if the affected families would be okay with relocating to his house in Kannur district, located some 150km away from the disaster site.
“But, I can assure them that they can stay there comfortably. If there are any school-going children, we have schools nearby. We will be glad to ease at least one family’s pain.”
More expats offer support
Meanwhile, more UAE-based Indian groups and expatriates have come forward to support Wayanad.
Sharjah-based Aries Group of Companies has offered to provide education, skill development and job placement support to children who have lost their parents in the devastating landslides.
Aries Group is extending its comprehensive support to orphaned children and those who have lost a parent, focusing on providing education, career guidance, and job placement opportunities, the group stated.
Sir Sohan Roy, founder chairman and CEO of the group added that the resources of the newly formed Happiness Department in the UAE, led by Nivedya Roy, which is dedicated to promoting mental well-being and happiness, will now be extended to support those affected in Wayanad.
Abu Dhabi-based Ahalia Group had on Monday offered to sponsor all the orphaned children and raise them at their facility. Several other Indian groups in the UAE had announced millions of dirhams in donation for the rehabilitation of the disaster-struck Wayanad.
Med7 Health Care Group and Kerala Samajam in Ras Al Khaimah have expressed their willingness to build houses for the homeless in Wayanad while employees of Gold FM, a Malayalam radio channel in the UAE, have pledged to donate a day’s salary.
Concert for a Cause
Meanwhile, Suchetha Satish, a Dubai-based university student who has set the Guinness World Record for singing in 140 languages at a concert, has announced a concert in Kerala to raise funds for Wayanad.
In a social media post, the young singer urged music lovers attending her concert to bring cheques in the name of the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund Account No 02 or use online channels to make the donation to the fund and share the screenshot.
Her ‘Concert for a Cause: Fundraiser for Wayanad’ along with Ajay Gopal and Sushanth KP will be held at the Town Hall in Kozhikode on August 12.
Of the 3.5 million-strong Indian expats in the UAE, an estimated one million hail from Kerala. Many deceased and survivors in Wayanad are relatives and friends of expats from Wayanad.
