Every journey begins with a single step, and ours began in compassion and a spirit of giving. I belong to the Brindavan Nagar Annamma Devasthana Seva Sangha in Srinagar, Bangalore, through which we had collected relief funds for Gujarat Earthquake victims. But the main apprehension of those who contributed generously to help the victims of the disaster was that the funds would fail to reach the affected persons. So an idea took shape. A few of us would actually go to the spot and distribute the kind of things that would meet the real time, practical needs of the victims. Despite having very little knowledge of the situation there, two of us, I and Shivkumar, left for Baroda on March 4, 2001, from where we took a bus to Bhuj.

Bhuj is the district in Gujarat that suffered the maximum devastation during the earthquake, and approximately 2,500 were killed in the city alone. My friend, who is studying in the Baroda Faculty of Fine Arts, arranged for our accommodation. Later he took us to the organizations that were working for earthquake victims. After meeting the relief workers, we understood there was a drastic need for machinery that would enable the victims to become self-reliant. Most of the affected persons were rehabilitated with basic accommodation, clothing and food. We felt they now needed other things that would help them restart their professions. So, as per the requirements listed down by the organizations, we bought sewing machines and distributed them among the victims in the Bhagat Singh Camp in Bhuj.

Later, we roamed around in the rural areas of Bhuj, Anjar, Ratnal, Pattar and Pachau. We were grief stricken by the heart-rending scenes that we saw along the way. Entire stretches of villages throughout the route were completely destroyed, leaving nothing but rubble. Most of the houses were built with substandard building material and it was obvious that they couldn't withstand such a severe jolt. Deserted streets brought to mind towns under curfew, only here all the survivors were camping outside the town fearing more after shocks.

But, thankfully, the flood of relief material that flowed into Gujarat was astounding. We found the victims thanking us profusely. They were also grateful to other organizations working for their rehabilitation. Relief workers were seen stationed in almost all important towns, offering medical aid and distributing food. It was heart warming to see the support extended by both national and international organizations in this hour of crisis. We came back with our hearts heavy with sorrow, but there was also an immense satisfaction - we too had done our share, we too had lent a helping hand. Ours was the joy of giving.

This is a personal account of Praveen Kumar, working at Indias-best.com

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