KERALA, INDIA  – The latest news indicates that the known death toll from devastating floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 445 by Sunday, August 26th with the discovery of 28 more bodies as the waters recede and a massive cleanup gathers pace. Another 15 people are reported as missing. A million survivors are packed into temporary relief camps.

Meanwhile, Gospel for Asia (GFA) -supported pastors, missionaries, healthcare workers, staff, and church members are flooding the entire province of Kerala with kindness, doing everything possible to assist people who must now survive the post-flood trauma and trials.

Some are rescuing people from flooded homes and moving them to relief camps. Others have moved vehicles from flood-affected areas to safer places.

One church parish distributed 500 freshly-cooked lunches to flood victims staying in relief camps and homes in Niranam – a severely affected area.

Other parishes provided basic necessities such as mats, buckets, mugs, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and clothing to affected families.

Bridge of Hope is doing all it can to help to the families of 200 BOH children and neighbors who had been caught in the floods. In addition to supplying rice, sugar, tea powder, green gram, and clothing, Bridge of Hope staff members are cleaning flood-affected homes and providing firewood for cooking at relief camps.

While one of the Bridge of Hope teams distributed immediate meals to 225 people in a relief camp, another team distributed blankets and clothing items to 322 people at another. One of the tailoring units run by Bridge of Hope in Wayanad made cloth bags for people at a relief camp.

Medical teams from Believers Church Medical College Hospital conducted clinics in more than 15 relief camps and provided medical assistance and medicines to hundreds of people.

Two schools are being used as facilities to house more than 1,500 flood survivors. The staff and students of our residential school in Thiruvalla have been actively involved in reaching out to the people in relief camps with essential items including clothes, ready-to-eat food items like biscuits and snacks, bottled water, toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitary napkins, and other personal items.

Teams of seminary students are working in various localities, removing mud, sludge, and debris left behind by the flooded waters.

Each survivor has his or her own particular personal needs. Every survivor, however, needs compassion, kindness, and love. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported teams are demonstrating the love of Jesus by giving aid to those in need with at no cost and without condition to families who have no safe place to live, no food to eat, and need medical aid. Most of all, our teams are providing them with hope and with the assurance that, although they are struggling, they are not struggling alone.

Now, we flood them with kindness.