Relief for landslide victims

How BMS has been helping displaced families and orphaned children following last month's disaster in Sri Lanka

On Wednesday 29 October, mudslides triggered by heavy monsoon rain engulfed dozens of houses in Koslanda, in Badulla Distict, Sri Lanka. More than 100 people are believed to have died in the disaster, according to the Guardian. 
 
While many of the village’s children were at school, the deadly landslide was burying their houses under nine metres of mud – 75 children returned home to find their houses gone and their relatives dead. In just a few short minutes, these children’s whole lives had changed.
 
Because of gifts to its disaster recovery appeal, BMS World Mission was able to respond immediately. It gave a grant of £3,500 to help partner the Lanka Evangelical Alliance Development Service (LEADS) get emergency relief to hundreds of those affected by the landslide.
 

The grant helped to fund:

• temporary shelter for 60 families – a tea factory has been renovated into shelters for families who have lost their homes 
• food packs – including rice, lentils, sugar, flour and tea leaves
• blankets and clothing – to protect those who lost their possessions from the elements
• hygiene packs – containing toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, pain relief and sanitary towels
• stationery – items like notebooks, pens and crayons
• games for therapy for affected children – including cricket bats/balls, tennis balls, Play-Doh and board games
 

Roshan Mendis, BMS Regional Team Leader for Central and South Asia and CEO of LEADS, says that, through the partnership with BMS and its supporters, “LEADS was really able to experience the truth of Helen Keller’s words, ‘Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.’”


We don’t know when another disaster is going to shatter the lives of hundreds. Help BMS World Mission to be prepared to respond straight away when one happens by giving to BMS disaster recovery today.


Please pray
 
Across the world, people live under the daily threat of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, droughts, floods and many other natural disasters. 
 
Others live in fear, as war and conflict rage around them and they have no way to make it stop.  
 
Please pray for them today.
 
Pray also for BMS, as it seeks to respond to disasters when they happen and to bring hope to those living in despair.
 

Photo credits: © Vikalpa | Groundviews | Maatram | CPA Flickr