It’s been around ten days since Kerala, my home state, has been enduring the wrath of the open dams. The water level has started subsiding in some parts but there has been a tremendous amount of damage. Lives have been lost, people displaced and homes washed away. Kerala is no stranger to rains but the dams have bought the rivers at people’s doorsteps and into their lives, washing away everything they have painstakingly built.
It’s when such calamities take place that you witness amazing acts of goodness. Perfect strangers help each other. People who are on dry land go to great lengths to distribute food packets and blankets. People from all over the world donate as much as they can to help. If personal tragedies were tackled this way, how beneficial it would be for the mental health of persons who suffer great troubles in their own lives but this is perhaps a thought that should be deferred. Right now, people are stranded in relief camps throughout the state and many have no access to food and water.
If any of you wish to donate to the cause, please do so here.
Oh this must be devastating to live through even if it does bring people together in solidarity. Sending thoughts and prayers your way that the waters recede and people can go about rebuilding their homes and lives.
Thank you so much Claire- we need as many prayers as we can get! Many of my family members who were trapped in my village were rescued yesterday. Now they all have to start over…
The floods were terrible and I empathize with the loss of lives and property. I must add that the people of Kerala were helpful. We were taken in by a family – relatives by a soon-to-be-marriage who took care of us for three days and ensured we were safe by driving us to their home and making sure we were safe until we reached our various destinations. A complete stranger to me who was put in touch with me through a friend’s colleague. drove to where i was from Coimbatore and drove me back and made sure to put me on the bus back to Bangalore. He has also been helping with airlifts and various relief efforts. The generosity and kindness of these people was overwhelming.
It is terrible what you had to go through Anu…I just hope that the kindness that you witnessed becomes a staple and that we can overcome this unbelievable tragedy!
I agree Neelima