Firstly, I want to thank all donors here for your generous donations and the continuous shares we’ve been receiving. This account was set up by my mother and me (Haritha Raja) – it’s a campaign to raise money for the people in Chennai who have lost so much during the Chennai Floods over the past few weeks. My mother, Manjula Raja, who lives in the U.S is the recipient. Born in America, residing in Maryland, I’m currently studying Accounting/Law in India at SASTRA University and Chennai has been my second home for the past 5-6 years and it hurts me to see this wonderful city crumbling down with recent floods. If your hometown is Chennai, I’m sure you could very well relate to what I’m feeling right now. It’s with this intent of helping our dear Chennaities that I have started this campaign. Once we have raised a good amount, the goal is to wire the amount to India to help me and my friends help the city in any way possible. I had come for a vacation to Singapore, and I am currently still here in Singapore, unable to get home as all flights to and from, have been cancelled for now.

A good friend of mine, Nandhitha Hariharan has been laying the foundation and has been managing the ground work in Chennai. The team in Chennai has already started the relief work by purchasing all basic essentials (including biscuit packets, bread, water bottles, medicines, sanitary napkins, clothing, blankets, food packets, etc) with a minimal amount of the donations and distributing the same to all affected areas in general and to a number of orphanages such as Vishranti. We are documenting the expenses to the best of our abilities. We are also doing our best to take pictures as and when possible to give you all the assurance that the funds are being utilized efficiently. However, it is also important for you to note that in certain situations we are unable to click pictures due to severe water logging. Moreover, the safety of the volunteers is a major concern and hence we hope you all understand that we are trying our level best. Due to poor network and tower connections, they are unable to send me the pictures for me to post it here. Once I receive, it I plan to periodically do postings of the same.

I have known Nandhu (Nanditha) for almost 5 years now and she is one of the most selfless and most sensible people I can rely on for this project. Just last night, after not being able to reach my grandmother, 75 who lives alone in T-Nagar, Chennai, within an hour after me contacting Nandhitha, she rounded up a squad and went personally, literally swimming inside the colony to ensure my grandmother’s safety and provided her with supplies. The goal of this mission is to target the neediest of all who are not helped by other major organizations and need all the support we can provide.

Meanwhile, my friends and team who will be involved with the relief efforts, Sella Visalakshi, Adarsh Subramanian and Sukanyaa Suresh, who are also in Singapore with me at the moment, are working day and night in attempt of raising funds to ensure that Nandhitha and her team have sufficient funds to carry on their operations. Besides raising funds through this website, we are also collecting funds locally in Singapore through relatives and friends who are also willing to contribute. Simultaneously, we have contacted Air India and Jet Airways in attempt of increasing our baggage allowance to enable us to transport basic supplies for the needy from any donations here in Singapore to Chennai when we are flying back on December 8th (Date may Vary depending on weather conditions and flight cancelations).

This apart, some of you who are not familiar with this website have had queries about the 5% fee deduction on every contribution. So how GoFundMe works is the money is donated through the account. GoFundMe deducts a 5% fee from every donation – this is because the site has major operating expenses like any other popular internet service, payroll and benefits for their staff and etc.

At this point, we will also be increasing the goal and updating the site constantly. At present, the goal is at $7000 and we plan on raising it according to the amount flowing in.

At this point, we would also like to state that since the money can only be withdrawn once we close the campaign, most of the amount will be used towards post-calamity relief. As of now, the rescue ops are still on in almost all localities and people are being saved from their homes that are completely ruined. We would like to remind everyone that the real work starts when we’re trying to rebuild their lives, some from scratch, and giving them the basics to do the same.

I understand that many people might have their doubts on the authenticity of this initiative, but I can assure you that all of us care about the same cause and Chennai is a home to all of us. None of us want to see our city in this state and we are and we will do our best to ensure that we ‪#‎savenammachennai‬.
My last and final request is to ask you all to not only share the page, but to contribute however much you can and to encourage others to do the same. The more the reach, the better chances for us to collect more funds for the needy in Chennai.

If you would like to personally contact me, you can do so at ritharaja@gmail.com or savenammachennai@gmail.com and I assure to get back as soon as possible. #SAVENAMMACHENNAI #CHENNAIRAINS

DONATE TO: www.gofundme.com/savenammachennai