August 15-18, 2018, will be a time in history that the Kerala state of India will never forget. All dams were filled to the brim in this monsoon season and with warning, all 42 dams and reservoirs were opened suddenly, the water gushed in the river as we have never seen it before.
Down the line, the width of the rivers could not hold and water started pushing into the villages, town and cities which are ashore to these rivers. 44 Rivers, all over Kerala, flooded. Though the government made proper rescue operations and precautions, 14 Districts and approximately 1,400,000 people were affected. 150,000 people have been placed in relief camps as schools, churches, temples and mosques, marriage halls and auditoriums became camps. The death toll is estimated at 400 and many people are still missing. Over 3 billion of loss (in US dollars) is the estimated impact to the districts.
We started seeing sunlight on August 19th, and relief work moved forward in major ways. We started buying basic needs and visiting camps to offer support. From August 19 onwards we continue in relief work. In the beginning days we could donate $450 towards daily needs to the relief camps, but the need is enormous. We go and clean the houses and we have never seen such a mess in homes. The first floors are completely in water, so they lost everything.
Our vision to move forward in relief efforts:
- Purchase basic groceries/toiletries/bed sheets/mats/books/school bags to distribute to our locality as our community has received limited support. 30 houses are affected, in our locality, and most are middle class families who have lost everything due to water damage. The aid is great and can help us build relationships with them as well.
- We will assess the loss and help financially for repairs. Some have lost the entire house and others have lost major portions of their homes.
- Assist in re-establishing lost water and electricity connections.
- Long term relationship building and support to families who lost family members in the floods. Two families in our locality lost their family members. One was drowned while saving two teens and another died in fear due to heart attack. Both of them are the head of the family and bread winners.
We really appreciate your financial support through our partner Grace Klein Community. Once the funds are raised, I provide complete accountability to Grace Klein Community on how these funds are used for the relief purpose. We will not forget your support in this time!
How to Give:
If you feel led to support the ministry efforts of Pearls of Slum, CLICK HERE to be directed to donate online, OR check donations can be mailed to: Grace Klein Community, 1678 Montgomery Hwy #104, Birmingham, AL 35216
Memo: Flood Relief
Here are the few pictures taken during the flood and the relief work to which we have been directly involved.
