Little, by Little, a Little becomes a LOT !!!

Most of us would have come across this famous Tanzanian proverb and that is how actually the change happens. In times of severe catastrophe caused by mother nature; we as a society need to come together & share the responsibility of helping the affected community.

The Chennai floods of December 2015, left around 150000 street vendors affected with an average loss of 10000 - 20000 Rs per vendor.

In this hour of need, a basic necessity like milk packet was being sold for rs 100, five times more than the average price of a packet. The citizens were not only suffering from the unending showers, but also had lost their homes, and access to food for a period of 5 days. Water, another basic necessity, didn't escape this high inflated prices and was being sold at rs 100 per bottle.

The transportation was at a standstill in the city, this further resulted in the cost of available and leftover grains and vegetables soaring high and with some citizens hoarding these basic commodities, the city further suffered.

Apart from basic necessities, numerous accounts of price gouging were reported throughout the city. Ranging from inflated fuel prices, for transportation to help relocate those affected. To Sky-High one way airfares; that was now upto 10 times the cost of a normal round trip ticket.

In continuation of our efforts to provide relief to the flood ridden city of Chennai. The A R Rahman Foundation sponsored provisions for the families of the Film Employees Federation of South India; that were donated by our trustee Ms Fatima Rafiq.

These donations were made as an effort by the foundation to support our ever growing family of musicians and to ensure that relief is provided to all the members of their families that can have access to food, while the city struggled to come back on its feet.

In times like this, showing solidarity with the community is of utmost importance to the foundation. To show your support for our relief programs; you can contribute today by clicking this link.

- Vidhi G Bhanushali

Manager - Sponsorship & Grant