Kerala Flood Disaster Relief

Kerala floods wiped out livelihoods for several families in the state. Care & Share responded with various projects. By reaching out to corporate connections, and also partnering with various groups and organizations, more than $3.1 million was raised for the relief effort.

CMDRF: $3.1 MILLION TO SUPPORT FLOOD VICTIMS

Kerala suffered unprecedented rainfall and devastating floods during the month of 2018 August. The floods caused a destruction of over Rs. 19,500 crores (approximately $3 billion USD) worth of damage, destroying homes, roads, bridges and huge tracts of farmland. According to the Government of Kerala, more than 400 people died, 700,000 people were displaced and 11,000 families lost their homes. The state was in dire need of resources. Care & Share quickly responded by launching a campaign to support Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Funds (CMDRF). By reaching out to corporate connections, and also partnering with various groups and organizations, more than $3.1 million was raised for the relief effort. A major chunk of the funds, approximately $1.6 million, came through the Facebook drive initiated by Arun Nella and Ajomon from Chicago. Another $1.3 million was raised through corporate channels. Other partnerships helped to raise rest of the funds.

Homes built for 45 flood affected families

Apart from CMDRF, Care & Share worked directly with various organizations to build houses for the flood victims. Spread across Kottayam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur, a total of 45 houses were built in 2018 and 2019 at an expense of $235,000. Priority was given to families with senior citizens, special needs, serious illnesses, and female households. Almost half of the funds came from Google employees through a dedicated drive. Rhythms Studios and Seattle Saptaswara conducted a Tamil fundraiser show in Seattle. During Microsoft’s Giving Campaign, Microsoft volunteers organized a poker tournament. These fundraisers helped to build 10 houses. We express our deepest gratitude to all our donors and volunteers for helping us to be a humble player in the #RebuildKerala movement.