In the gloom of a candle-lit tent in the devastated Indian city of Bhuj, some good news had filtered through to the Edith Wilkins Hope Foundation. The Irish Government had announced the foundation was to receive a grant of £150,000. Given the almost unspeakable dimensions of the recent earthquake tragedy, the amount of the grant might not seem a lot, but it has already been translated into blankets, medicine and tents. "It was a godsend, we welcomed it with open arms," Edith Wilkins said.
The founder of the Cork-based charity, who has spent almost two decades working with the underprivileged in the Indian subcontinent, was speaking last from Bhuj, as malaria, measles, gastroenteritis, chest and skin infections and tuberculosis were beginning to take hold, bringing a second wave of devastation to people who have already known a cataclysm.
"I have seen awful things during my years here but never anything like this. This is truly awful, the worst I have ever witnessed. The after-shocks are still coming and the smell of death is everywhere. You know there are going to be bodies long before you get to the site. The smell is in the air from a mile away and now the dogs are beginning to eat them. We are in the middle of a huge catastrophe.
"The children are absolutely traumatised. They wake at night screaming and crying from terrible nightmares. We are trying to organise makeshift schools for them, to give them a focus, something organised for them to do in the midst of all this chaos. It's hard to describe but I know I have never seen such incredible devastation.
"The scale of it is mind-boggling. The centre of Bhuj is gone, no longer there, and half the population of 340,000 people are either dead or unaccounted for. There are dreadful stories everywhere you turn, of amputations, children left orphaned, whole family groups wiped out. At the same time, good things are happening. The Indian army has been magnificent and the people of Cork and all over Ireland have answered our call for help. Please thank everyone for me, their generosity is making a difference and helping us to cope," she added.
The pictures shown here were taken by Michael McSweeney, of Provision in Cork, who was asked by the Hope Foundation to travel to India last week to document one of the worst catastrophes witnessed in the region. Last year, he spent some time in Calcutta with Hope, where thousands of street children are being helped by the organisation, but nothing had prepared him for the sights he would meet in Bhuj.
"It's a gigantic tragedy, the loss of life and the destruction of property and homes are on a huge scale. I don't think we're getting a full account of the numbers who have lost their lives. I was in six towns in the region and, in each of them, thousands of people were killed but there hasn't been any publicity about them. The human suffering is on such a scale that it's hard to believe," he said.
Together with two other Cork women, Maureen Forrest and Celina Daly, Edith Wilkins founded the Hope Foundation over a year ago.
Each of them had worked previously with GOAL, and their plan was to concentrate on long-term care and facilities, rather than emergency relief, and so the registered charity, with its headquarters at Clover Lawn, Skehard Road in Cork, was established.
It has raised almost a million pounds to further its work in India. But since the earthquake tragedy, the immediate needs of the stricken people of Bhuj have been the focus of attention for Edith Wilkins and her team, which averages 10 volunteers at any given time.
During the first of our conversations last week, Ms Wilkins was in Calcutta, where she had organised the purchase of 1,000 tents, each capable of accommodating up to 10 people. The need, she said, was for 2,000 tents. Sourcing them and having them trucked to ravaged Bhuj, a three-day journey, was part of the ongoing fight to get relief through to the people. During the day, the displaced population of the region must endure temperatures in the 40s; by night, a 30 degree drop leaves them freezing.
The Government's announcement of £150,000 for the foundation was put to use within hours of the grant being signalled to Hope's Calcutta offices for the purchase of medicines, mosquito nets, tents, tarpaulin, blankets and food supplements as well as temporary housing.
"The rains are due at the end of May, so we are working against the clock to get a building programme organised in an effort to get people housed. But at the moment, it's just pure survival. In the immediate future, it looks as if we will begin to face a food shortage in the Bhuj region, that's the next problem we will have to tackle," Ms Wilkins said.
Contributions to the Hope Foundation Earthquake Appeal may be made to AIB 66 South Mall, Cork a/c number 50677246 (sort code:936383) or at www.edithwilkins.com