During covid lockdown, a super-cyclone (AMPHAN) also devastated the life and livelihood of the urban population during May 2020. They have been affected economically, health-wise, and mentally. Three major problems have been identified;
a) nutritional deficiency from months-long cereal-only diet from relief
b) inadequate supply of basic hygiene material
c) water-borne disease during post-cyclone. All these three problems are creating synergistic effects increasing vulnerability in food, health, and socio-economic sectors.
That’s why we started a project Called “Bengal Supermom”. In this project, one thousand people were directly supported through the distribution of the nutrition and hygiene kit and another two hundred moms were directly trained through the proposed initiative. The project ensures the sustainability part which includes open-sourcing of the knowledge gathered from the project through an APP free to all. This way the concept of sustainable living will maximize its impact and mothers from all over the Bengal will be supported and become resilient to extreme events.
The android app we created is called “Bengal Supermom” which is available on the google play store. In our app, there is lots of content about child care, mother care, and home safety. To reach the marginal community all the content is available in the Bengali Language. And there is a forum where they can participate in the discussion and help others by sharing their opinion.
The objective of the project includes three components; Kit distribution, capacity building, and creating sustainability. The first component will act as the first line of defense against the above-mentioned three major barriers. It will help the marginal population to get immediate relief. The next part, capacity building, enables them to acquire knowledge-based sustainable solutions for better living, better health, and better food. It will also provide them the basic financial knowledge and an understanding of holistic safety. The third part will create a network of mothers and an online app-based platform for knowledge and experience sharing.
