MCC is providing aid to people displaced by flooding in Nepal and planning a further response to flooding in Nepal, Bangladesh and India.
Seasonal floods are currently affecting millions of people in these South Asian countries, destroying homes, spreading waterborne diseases and claiming hundreds of lives. MCC is welcoming financial contributions to provide assistance to people affected by this disaster.
In Nepal, MCC is providing about $21,000 U.S., or $22,000 Cdn., to the Nepal Christian Relief Services to assist about 1,650 people who have fled the flooding in Nepal's southern plains region. The project will provide food, clothing, blankets, soap, mosquito nets and other necessities.
In Bangladesh, MCC staff members are meeting with partner organizations to plan a response while floodwaters still cover about a third of the country. Jerry Shank, an MCC representative in Bangladesh, reported that the ground floor of one of MCC's offices was flooded in the riverside town of Sirajganj. Members of MCC's staff are safe, but some have temporarily relocated away from Sirajganj.
Staff members say that a months-long response may be necessary to help Bangladeshi communities recover from flood damage. In the past, MCC has helped rebuild houses, repair riverbanks and replant fields after major floods in Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh is no stranger to floods," Shank wrote in an e-mail. "Yet, when another one arrives, the cost in human suffering is great and can quickly become life threatening for the millions living on the edge ... ."
Financial contributions for MCC's response may be made at any MCC office or online at
mcc.org/donate
. They should be designated "South Asia Flood Response."
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