July 2026 Issue #84
We are there.. Need you too!
The monsoon has affected many parts of the country. Heavy rainfall has led to flooding, flash floods and landslides across several states, disrupting lives, damaging infrastructure and affecting access to essential services.
Goonj field teams are in regular contact with communities across the region to understand changing conditions and identify essential needs of the people.
From Relief to Resilience..
Disasters test and devastate people, but they also reveal resilience. This NDTV Changemakers Season 5 Film highlights how Goonj’s work brings that strength of the most affected to the surface, also nudging for a rethink on how we view disasters and those most affected.
The Way Forward
JOIN SARRD – We are building a multisectoral alliance of committed entities through Societal Alliance for Resilience and Response to Disasters (SARRD) to build a societal culture of care and resilience to create more coordinated, dignified, and community-led responses to disasters.
Write to us at [email protected] for more details and to commit.
Updates
Goonj joined 2026 London Climate Week Conversation with frontline learnings led SARRD framework
As part of our ongoing efforts to share learnings from over two decades of Goonj’s pan-India frontline disaster response work, in the shape of a societal framework of SARRD (Societal Alliance for Disaster Resilience and Response to Disasters) we convened a discussion during London Climate Action Week 2026. Bringing together practitioners, funders, researchers and development leaders, the conversation centered around one important question: How can we, as a society, design better disaster resilience by learning from people living with climate impacts every day?
A key reflection that emerged from the discussion was to center knowledge of the local communities that often goes unrecosgnised. Across conversations on disasters, livelihoods, water security, informal work and last-mile adaptation, participants recognised that communities in the Global South are not just living with climate impacts — they are continuously generating practical knowledge and solutions that deserve far greater visibility and trust in global climate conversations.
The discussion was held against the backdrop of Anshu Gupta’s (Founder, Goonj and Gram Swabhimaan) poignant photo exhibition, Disasters: Myths and Realities, showcasing images from over two decades of his direct involvement in disaster response.
The exhibition brought forward powerful stories of dignity, resilience and people’s own capacity to rebuild, reminding us that communities are not merely victims of disasters, but often the first and most important responders in rebuilding their own futures.
Highlights from Menstruation Dialogue 2026
To know more, click here- LinkedIn Reflection Post
Story from the Ground
In the flood-prone river island of Majuli, Assam, recurring floods often disrupt children’s education. But in Molual Miri village, the community came together to ensure learning continued with dignity. With Goonj acting as a catalyst, parents, teachers, and children collectively built a library using local resources and collective labour, while unused urban material found new relevance as a recognition of people’s effort — not charity. Today, the library stands as a symbol of resilience, participation, and hope amidst uncertainty.
Join Team 5000…
Team 5000 is a growing community of committed friends, building a more equitable, compassionate, and humane world with us.By joining, you become part of a community that believes meaningful change happens when ordinary people come together with extraordinary conviction.
With Material, Money Matters.
