Many countries in South Asia have been inundated during the monsoon season this year. Although the rain has eased up in some of the hardest stricken areas and water levels have subsided, up to 22 July, over 650 people had been killed and over 10 million had been displaced. In light of the severity of the disaster, CEDAR provided a grant of US$60,000 (around HK$470,000) to our Christian partners in India, Bangladesh and Nepal to provide emergency relief to the victims in the region. CEDAR would like to ask all of you for donations to support disaster victims to overcome the adversity.
During holiday, would you travel abroad, or do something meaningful? A team of 10 brothers and sisters from Evangelical Free Church of China Waterloo Hill Church (WHC) spent their 10-day holidays in Nepal last April. They travelled to mountainous communities in Gorkha to visit CEDAR’s partner ACN who are doing post-disaster work. “Through this trip, we hope to help brothers and sisters realise what integral mission is and broaden their gospel vision,” says Joshua, former WHC staff and part of the team. Therefore, they stepped out of the air-conditioning room at church and went to remote mountainous area where they practised walking with local people and the meaning of offering a cup of cold water to little ones. It was the first time for most of the team to visit a disaster area or take part in cross-cultural activity, thus Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) was also a new idea to them.
CEDAR’s partner, ACN, in Nepal has been distributing much-needed relief aid to vulnerable families
Nepal, India, and Bangladesh have been facing the worst monsoon rains in 15 years, triggering severe flooding across the three countries. Over 1,200 people have been killed, and 41 million people have been affected. CEDAR’s partners begun their responses the week after the flooding intensified. The initial responses were carried out in Nawalparasi district in central Nepal and Bihar state in northern India, providing emergency relief items for affected communities.
The response is entering a new stage right now. CEDAR has allocated funds for Asal Chhimekee Nepal (ACN) in Nepal to provide hygiene kits and winter items for 600 households and provide half-month food supply for 200 families (most of them are single-mother households) in Nawalparasi. In Bihar, India, CEDAR is supporting EFIC@R to set up 5 medical camps in affected communities to provide health services and medication, and to also promote human trafficking prevention to help flood-affected people, especially women and children, to safeguard themselves from traffickers.
We have also received a grant of HK$2.88 million from the Hong Kong government’s Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee to conduct aid distribution through our India partner, Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR), in one of the worst-hit states, Bihar. The distribution will benefit at least 5,000 families, and each household will receive:
Food aid: 35 kg rice, cooking oil, flour, etc.
Household items: 3 bed sheets, 2 floor mats and 2 mosquito nets
Hygiene kits: containing soap, laundry detergent, tooth brush, tooth paste, water purification tabs, and sanitary pads
Two of our colleagues will travel to India to monitor and evaluate on the response, as well as to learn about the condition of the flood-stricken communities. Please continue to support through prayers and donation for the relief effort of CEDAR and its partners in Nepal and India.
Prayer items:
Pray for the flooded communities in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, especially those located in remote areas, may God provide safe shelters for the survivors, give them clean daily food, protect them from diseases despite the poor hygiene condition after the floods.
May God use CEDAR and other Integral Allicance* members and their local partners in the three countries to bring timely and effective assistance to the survivors.
Please pray for the two colleagues who will be traveling to India. Pray that God keep them safe, and have a smooth and fruitful collaboration with EFICOR’s staff.
Donation:
Cheque payable to “CEDAR FUND”
Deposit to HSBC A/C No. 600-385678-001, enclosing with the deposit slip
[1] All funds received will go to “South Asia Floods Relief”. If funds raised exceed the budget devised from the disaster evaluation, the additional amount will go directly to CEDAR’s “Emergency Relief and Disaster Preparedness Fund”. [2] CEDAR is an approved charitable institution and trust of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please visit Inland Revenue Department website for details. [3] Donations over HK$100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [4] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
Contact Information:
Tel>2381 9627
Fax>2392 2777
Email>sharing@cedarfund.org
Add>G.P.O. Box 3212 Hong Kong
*Integral Alliance is a global alliance of 23 Christian relief and development agencies, working together to present a more effective response to poverty worldwide. CEDAR Fund is one of the member agencies. CEDAR and 14 other members of Integral Alliance are responding to flood-affected communities through local partners and churches.
Incessant rainfalls in South Asia have triggered massive floods and landslides, destroying farmlands, houses and roads, as well as killing innocent lives. It is estimated that up to 41 million people are affected in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, where over a million people are displaced. Survivors are experiencing food and water shortages, and humanitarian workers fear the outbreak of waterborne diseases.
The Monsoon storms and Typhoon were devastating to Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and Nepal last year around this time. This year, millions of residents of South Asia continued to suffer from the floods and landslides caused by the violent weather, and are in great need of our help and prayers.
Heavy rains and floods were reported in Nepal last week, and now the affected areas are extended to include the northern parts of India. Thirty five provinces of Nepal are experiencing floods and landslides which affected nearly 13,000 families, destroying 6,800 homes. In India, more than 2.7 million people in the northern provinces of Bihar, Assam, and West Bengal were affected by the prolonged precipitation.
