Page 49 - Keralite Magazine _2020

KERALITE  APRIL 20 20 35
concern, the media coverage of the catastrophe Committee members donated $10,000 towards this Moved by the su ering they were witnessing, the
that was unfolding in their native land. We saw e ort as well. In all, we raised over $90,000 to youth members of Kerala Club also got involved in
images of frightening destruction as the raging support the flood-a ected victims of Kerala. these e orts. Rahul Prabhakar, a sophomore at
floods ravaged Kerala, videos of homes destroyed, “Respect people who find time for you in their busy University of Detroit Jesuit High School, collected
people displaced, and desperate pleas for rescue as schedule, but love people who never looked at their $1000 through a fundraiser he organized in
water levels rose. We witnessed from afar, the worst schedule when you needed them.” - Unknown collaboration with his school authorities and fellow
calamity that Kerala had seen in a hundred years. students. Kaushik Nair, a senior at Novi High School,
Relief E orts started a Facebook fundraiser that helped raise
And just as despair was at its peak, from this
immense tragedy arose something else; the human Once we started our fundraiser, we quickly $1200. We would be remiss if we did not give a
will to persevere - stronger and more ferocious than mobilized our contacts in Kerala to partner with special mention to Vishnu Kavituri and Sandhya
ever! Fishermen came by the hundreds to navigate NGOs providing relief work. To date, we have Sree Athmakuri for contributing to our GFM.
the raging waters; the bravehearts in uniform completed all of the planned 41 projects. We made On a final note, Kerala Club would like to thank all
worked tirelessly to reach the almost unreachable; sure that the projects helped all flood-a ected those kindhearted people who placed their trust
young men and women mobilized and led rescue districts of Kerala, specifically Kottayam, Palakkad, in us and supported our relief e orts. You were
On August 15, 2018, while the rest of India was
celebrating Independence Day with pomp and and relief e orts. The leaders - political and Alappuzha, Idukki, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, heroes in a time of great need. You contributed
glory, little did they realize what was in store for the administrative - worked side by side without regard and Thrissur. towards making a di erence, and together we
people of Kerala. The monsoon season that had for their own comfort. We partnered with NGOs such as VISWAS, Rotary were able to help our people back home. You have
started out no di erent from those of the years Fundraising E orts Club, Kozhikode Co-operative Hospital, Charakatthu restored our collective faith in humanity.
past, unleashed exceptionally relentless, torrential Foundation, Red Cross, Santhigiri College, ADORA, Thank you!
rainfall on this coastal state. To make matters worse, As an organization that prides itself on serving the CMC Vellore, and Kerala State Warehousing
these downpours were near the reservoirs of Kerala community, we understood that this was a time of Corporation; local panchayats like Velliyamattom,
that held water for irrigation and drinking purposes. need for our brothers and sisters back home. After Kallara, Kumarakom, Vellathool and Kumali; and
The rainfall of August 2018 was 164% over the quick planning discussions, we decided to organize churches like St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Church.
normal for Kerala that month, and by the end of the a fundraiser to help support relief and rehabilitation Our GoFundMe (GFM) campaign (https://www. Local political leaders like former MLA Mr. T. U.
day on August 16, the reservoirs had reached work. gofundme.com/kerala-floods-relief-fundraiser) was Radhakrishnan, multiple municipality councilors
maximum capacity. Faced with the imminent and started on August 17, 2018, with the goal of raising and panchayat presidents also helped us implement
serious threat of multiple dams collapsing, a $25,000 towards flood relief e orts. Our friends, these projects. We helped over 1000 families
decision was made to open the shutters of all major donors, and patrons opened their hearts and through relief and rehabilitation e orts. We
dams in the state. Thirty-five out of the 54 dams in extended their arms to help and contribute to the distributed clothes, food, medicines, household utensils,
the state were opened for the first time in history. GFM campaign and we reached the target in four bedding, mixers, school supplies, oral rehydration
The subsequent deluge, coupled with the still days. With the help of local news media such as solution, flood kits, groceries, and cleaning
unyielding rain, would result in the worst floods that CNN.com, Fox 2 News, Channel 4 News, and WXYZ, essentials. We also helped rebuild homes. None of
Kerala had seen in a century. Over 483 people lost our GFM page became one of the most accessed this would have been possible without support
their lives and at least a million people had to be pages during this flood crisis. People started from our partners back home.
evacuated. All 14 districts of the state were placed contributing from far and away. We decided to
on red alert. According to the Kerala government, increase our campaign goal to $50,000 and within
one-sixth of the total population of Kerala was 13 days of starting our campaign, collected
directly a ected by the floods and related $45,000. Having reached our goal of $50,000, we
incidents. The Indian government declared the 2018 decided to formally close our GFM campaign on
floods a Level 3 Calamity, or "calamity of a severe October 31.
nature." Never had the state witnessed a natural “Giving is not just about making a donation, it is
calamity of this proportion since the Great Floods about making a difference.” - Kathy Calvin
of 99 (Malayalam year) that happened in 1924.
In addition to donations to our GFM campaign, we
As the day dawned on August 16 in the U.S., we, also received direct contributions from our partners
Kerala Club Executive Members watched with for $30,000. Kerala Club and its Executive