Funding Request: $32,295.13 CAD
Project Code: DFIMM0924
As August crossed into September, a low-pressure system from the Bay of Bengal intensified a period of heavy rains that were already devastating parts of southern India. The region of Chalice’s Mangalagiri sponsor site saw the heaviest rainfall recorded in fifty years. It triggered a deadly landslide, and two rivers overflowed, submerging 40% of the city and surrounding areas. At the time of writing, flooding has caused 36 deaths.
The state government, the national disaster response agency, and local agencies are working to provide relief, but water levels are still high. Schools are closed, and many areas are still inundated. More than 644,000 people are affected by the floods, and only 7% have access to a relief camp.
Most of those affected live below the poverty line and rely on daily wage work or scavenging. Their workplaces, including construction sites, markets, shops, snack stands and small businesses, have been submerged, stopping their work, and causing lost wages.
The families returned home after relocating for a week; they found their houses filled with mud and debris, with household items, clothing, and bedding irreparably damaged. Children’s school materials, such as books and bags, are ruined. Many are now struggling to access necessities such as food, medicine, and shelter.
Our Mangalagiri site staff visited families of sponsored children in the flood zone. Staff saw the families urgently needed non-perishable food items for at least a month as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives. Parents requested nutritious food to ensure the health and strength of children and families during recovery.
The Mangalagiri site is therefore requesting disaster funds to create hampers of urgent supplies for 625 sponsored children and their families. Each hamper will have staple foods (e.g. rice, lentils), notebooks, school bags, hygiene kits (soap, toothbrush, sanitary towels), clothing, a bedsheet set, and towels.
The staff will organize and pack hampers and take them to distribution centres, likely schools or community halls. Volunteers, Chalice family circle members, and staff will help with packing, distributing, and moving the hampers. They’ll make sure elderly recipients can get their hampers home.
Your support will provide urgent immediate relief for families whose lives have been turned upside-down and support them as they begin to reassemble their homes and livelihoods.