These days are hard. We are safe here in the centre, but the storm has affected more than 2 million people. News reports have said the flood have taken the lives of just a few hundred, but in reality, i am sure there is so much havoc that, numbers are unaccountable.
The last few days have been spent working as
relief volunteers. Packing rations, forming assembly lines to pass packs on to trucks.
We have also started purchasing stuff like alcohol (to kill germs) and biscuits (dry rations are easiest because the survivors may not have the facility to cook), canned food, drinking water. These 300 packages have just been assembled and ready to be distributed. It's a small number, but for today, this is what we can manage with our finances and manpower.
In our daily lives, water is so much taken granted for that, only when there is no way to use the tap (flooding affects all systems), no way to buy water (if one is located in an already flooded area), you can just imagine how much clean drinking water 2 million people need. Many are now sick, disease is commonplace. First hand accounts to just some people i spoke to said that they saw their own neighbour's children get swept away in the flood. Another spoke of how he had to wade through flood waters, in some areas neck high water, for 8 hours to get home to his family. many families just had to pull together, squeezing tens of people in a small upper room. If like many in the world, if you haven't been in a flood before... there are many 'traps' in the flood, like potholes, drains, dead animals, live rats, snakes, rain pouring down constantly, no transport and maybe even no electricity.
These days are tiring not only physically, but also emotionally. A picture speaks a thousand words, so here are just some photos of today. I will try to update this blog when i can. If you would like to help with contributions, please feel free to email/leave a comment with your contact. God bless all of us
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