India (MNN)–Massive flooding followed torrential monsoon rains that began the last week of June and continued into the first week of July.
More than 100 hours of continuous rain meant that at one point, nearly 70-percent of the state was under water.
That left hundreds of thousands homeless, with no access to clean water or sanitation. Now, there’s the threat of malaria.
World Vision’s Manoj Chauhan details their response. “We have distributed some 20-thousand food packets, and 70-thousand safe drinking water pouches were distributed. Not only that, but more than three thousand households were given tarpaulins.”
The food packets were sometimes air-dropped by helicopters in inaccessible areas. In the early days of the response effort, more than 13,000 people got cooked food in the Vadodara district by World Vision’s Baroda Area Development Program. A rapid response effort was also launched in the Vyara program area.
Chauhan says beyond the humanitarian relief, there were spiritual and emotional needs that needed to be met. “Volunteers also came from the different church networks, and from the World Vision staff itself. We gathered a team of around 30 people–day and night, (they) worked.”
In times of crisis, those who are helping are often asked why they’re responding. It’s a time when faith can be clarified. “We just reached into the different parts of the city and the rural areas. I think this is a big impact in terms of the Christian love, as such.”
If you’d like to help, go to the World Vision website by following the highlighted link above.
