More than 1,000 people have died and 41 million people in South Asia have been affected in some of the severest flooding in decades, according to relief officials and the United Nations.1
At the epicenter of need, our brothers and sisters in the BIC national Churches of India and Nepal are seeking to help local communities with restoration and relief work. See below how you can help.
During this monsoon season, torrential rains caused flash floods and rivers to overflow — with water rising as high as 8 feet in areas of Nepal with a Brethren in Christ presence.
Thousands of houses have been demolished. In India where many of our national BIC Churches and hostels are located, floods have dismantled bridges, damaged major highways. Tens of thousands of people throughout South Asia have fled their homes and are living in relief camps.2
And this is only the beginning: Flooding has contaminated the water supply, causing widespread outbreaks of diarrhea, malaria, and dengue.3 And crops have been destroyed throughout the region, on which many people depend to survive.
Aftermath of Flooding for SPICE
Flooding at the Thomas G. MacClay Boys Hostel in Biratnagar, Nepal.
Within the SPICE program, we thank God that children are safe. In Nepal, children were evacuated to their homes prior to the deluge. Since then, most children have returned to the SPICE hostels and to school. Meanwhile, in India, children were secure as SPICE hostels were located on higher ground. In fact, one of the SPICE properties served as a refuge for families fleeing the flooding.
We also praise God that minimal structural damage occurred inside the hostels during the flooding, even though water rose more than 4 feet inside the hostel compound in Nepal. *Supplies like mattresses and beds donated from the SPICE Capital Improvements Campaign have been preserved; new mattresses were stacked on the top bunk beds to ensure they remained dry.
However, the flooding did cause property damage. In Nepal, one of the hostel barricades collapsed during the flooding and will need to be rebuilt.
BIC National Churches Assist Vulnerable Communities
Partnering with national BIC Churches in India and Nepal, late August we released an initial $15,000 from the Global Compassion Fund to help our brothers and sisters directly distribute relief and aid to area flood victims.
We plan to continue to collaborate with other Anabaptist agencies and denominations in supporting national BIC Churches in India and Nepal providing for victims’ immediate and long-term needs.
Because of the BIC national Churches network, the Church can aid families affected by flooding in remote villages — where the government struggles to provide assistance. Such places are vulnerable, often poverty-stricken, and lacking basic amenities like health care.
We ask that you partner with BIC national Churches in India and Nepal reaching marginalized communities devastated by the flood. By giving to the Global Compassion Fund, help national BIC Churches distribute aid in the following ways:
Short-term relief:
Feeding and clothing victims.
Longer-term development:
Distributing seeds and fertilizers for agricultural cultivation as the flooding has destroyed crops.
Reconstruction:
Rebuilding boundary wall of SPICE hostel in Nepal and the BIC church building on the grounds.
Repairing 5 mud-house churches in Nepal.
To help, give to the Global Compassion Fund here. When donating, select “Global Compassion Fund” from the drop-down menu.
1 Jeffrey Gettleman, “More Than 1,000 Died in South Asia Floods This Summer,” The New York Times, August 29, 2017.
2 Harriet Agerholm, “South Asia’s worst flooding in a decade kill thousands and decimates millions of hectares of crops,” Independent, September 7, 2017.
3 Mohi Narayan, “Thousands hit by malaria, dengue as South Asia’s worst floods in a decade recede,” Reuters, September 6, 2017.