KOCHI:When the floods ravaged the state, help came from all quarters. A group of youngsters, volunteering for Rally for Rivers, also set out for the relief work in the state. They could have stayed in the comforts of their homes, but instead decided to get in the dirt to do their bit. They took efforts so that at least some of the flood-affected people can soon return to the their homes.
On August 24, a group of 55 volunteers set out for Kerala from Coimbatore. After coordinating with more than 200 city-based volunteers of the Isha Foundation, it took the group more than 10 days to visit various camps in Thrissur, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kochi and Alappuzha. “Aluva, Paravoor and Chengannoor were the most intensive areas we had to encounter,” says Sudhib Balakrishnan of Rally for Rivers. “We cleaned more than 100 houses and schools.”
According to the volunteers, they also cleaned seven anganwadis in and around Kuthiyathodu. For the volunteers, working during this time was life-changing to some extent. “I was in Chengannoor the other day,” says Sudhib.
“A Christian nun was helping with the cleaning work at a school. She looked really exhausted. When we reached the place, she hugged one of the volunteers. It was a truly blissful sight,” he adds.
Along with their rehabilitation operations, the Rally for Rivers and Isha volunteers also provided relief materials for those affected by the flood. Furthermore, the volunteers also distributed Nilavembu Kashayam, which is a multi-herbal medication that helps prevent diseases and viral infections, in the places they visited.