United Way Mumbai -- Helping Build Sustainable Communities

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United Way Mumbai Helpline- A Catalyst for Change

Mumbai – the financial capital of India – located on the West coast of India is prone to disaster situations natural and manmade alike. Right from the 1993 bomb blasts & riots to the floods in 2005, again train blasts in 2006 and then the 2008 terror strikes, Mumbai has been subjected to a near-crisis situation in every disaster faced.

What set the ball rolling at United Way Mumbai were the floods that affected Mumbai in 2005. The rainfall went all the way up to 94.4 centimeters leaving the city in deep waters. Mumbai's 150-year old drainage system which can barely manage a little more than 2.5 cm of rain per hour had proved itself a complete failure on the day of the floods trying to cope with 94.4 cm rainfall. This combined with high tides led to a completely unmanageable flood situation in several parts of Central and North Mumbai.

On that fateful day-

150,000 people were stranded in railways stations alone
1,100 flights were cancelled
Local trains that carry 4.5 million passengers daily were halted, because of damage to trains and tracks
1 million people were left homeless
5 million mobile and land lines crashed
Loss of electricity for 5 days in certain areas of the city
10,000 crore rupees of infrastructure loss 500 crore rupees of livestock loss
600 crore rupees of crops loss
Landslides claimed the lives of 60 people, and nearly 200 people were missing
Over 409 people died in mumbai
Mumbai suffered an estimated loss of 2,500 crore rupees

All this could have been avoided had Mumbai been better prepared! United Way Mumbai Helpline is a platform to promote the synergy between individuals, citizen's groups, NGOs, local government, Corporates and those who wish to help solve the civic issues of Mumbai. It is a unique attempt at giving a professional approach to solving common civic issues and to bring together various voluntary efforts. This is also the first time that Corporates have joined hands to support an independent effort to address civic and disaster preparedness initiatives in the city.

United Way- Mumbai Helpline aspires to become a catalyst of change. Our goal is to set-up Ward Resource Centres at every civic ward, for building network on the ground comprised of key stakeholders, training and preparing citizens for tackling their local civic issues, and disaster preparedness when the need arises.

Over a period of time, and in coordination with all local bodies, the Resource Center evolves a Disaster Preparedness Plan for the particular ward to be able to handle the post-effects of such disasters quickly with minimal loss of life and property.

It is a first of its kind attempt to strategize a plan to safeguard and prepare the city for natural calamities. The uniqueness of the project is that it has a ward wise approach involving various stakeholders. Along with Disaster preparedness, the project also addresses Civic issues, since both needs to be tackled to make the city a safer, cleaner and better place to live in.

How does it work?

Aim at setting ‘Ward Resource Centers’ in the civic wards

For building up networks on the ground connecting key stakeholders
For training and preparing citizens for tackling their local issues
For disaster preparedness when the need arises.
Evolve a Disaster Management Plan
Helpline in each center to deal with civic issues of that ward
Connect the common person to the various government bodies in the ward

Eventually, all 24 wards in Mumbai should have such resource centers
Connects individuals, citizen's groups, NGOs, local government, Corporates and those who wish to help solve the civic issues of Mumbai
We believe that Precaution is better than cure!

Vision

To make Mumbai City a better place to live in.

Mission

An Organization that would bring about significant, immediate and sustainable change in Mumbai