Heavy rains and flooding have wreaked havoc in Kerala over the past couple of weeks. Over one million people are now sheltered in around 3000 relief camps, 50,000 houses have been destroyed, and more than 410 people have lost their lives in what could be said as the worst monsoon in nearly a century! The rain has now stopped, the flood waters are receding and the extent of devastation to homes and country is beginning to unfold.

#FundforKerala

We are crowdfunding to help a small labour community in Chalakudy, Thrissur, recover and rebuild after the floods in Kerala. We are also providing relief materials, in particular disinfectants and bleaching powder, to a local camp in Kochi, to ensure that the people are looked after and do not fall prey to water-borne infections.

We are a group of friends, in London (Aarthi) and on the ground in Chalakudy (Meril) and Kochi (Jutten) and we need your help!

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Meril - Chalakudy, Meril's home town, is one of the most affected areas within Kerala. With the help of Meril's friends, we are looking to support 10 families who have not only lost their homes, but also their loved ones. The survivors are currently in relief camps and Meril and his friends on the ground are looking to clean the surroundings, rebuild the houses, and provide as much as possible to the families.

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Jutten - Kochi, Jutten's home town, has 36 camps with 30,000 people from 7,560 families. We are looking to support as many of the camps by purchasing with the urgent materials they need. Jutten will hand deliver the materials to the camps and also to those in need in the surrounding areas. One key concern is the threat of disease and so we are also looking to provide disinfectants and bleaching powder to help avoid water-borne diseases.

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Aarthi; Kerala is very special to me in so many ways. I have lived and worked within the community, who embraced me as their own and it hurts to see them battle through the havoc the heavy rains and floods have caused. I want to help Kerala as much as we can and so have set up this crowdfunding site to support Jutten and Meril #doforkerala.

Here's what the current situation is like in Chalakudy - Meril took these pictures on the 21st Aug 2018: