Rains come and floods happen, but the 300% rainfall that fell in Chennai has devastated the lives of the people in Chennai. While the poor people in slums lost saw their huts and their meager possessions washed away, people in towering apartments were stranded and without food for three to five days. Imagine the scene, as heavy rains fill up lakes, the overflowing water bursts through their boundaries. Even as you see water overflowing into the streets and your home, sometimes breaking down walls, you are already knee deep in water. Poor laborers, engineers, and affluent actors had to rush somewhere to safety. Many were rescued – but many are still being rescued by boats and helicopters. ISKCON Chennai’s Food for Life program which was able to cook and serve meals on the very day that the great Asian tsunami struck in 2004, was this time, neck deep in water. Devotees in the temple were brought to dry land using boats and watched helplessly as the flood waters completely filled the basement of the temple from floor to roof. Vehicles were suddenly bobbing in the water. The iron water tank took a swim over the compound wall. Like the rest of the city, ISKCON Chennai is awakening from the shock and now reaching out to the public with hot meals, medical aid and personal needs. Currently, Food for Life Chennai is serving 10,000 hot meals daily. Besides distributing in public shelters, the volunteers are moving into streets still knee deep in water and giving meals door to door. They aim to expand to more areas in Chennai, adding items like water, bed sheets, mosquito repellents, new clothes, toothpaste, brush etc. DONATE VIA Food for Life Global To Wire Funds from Overseas A FCRA account of ISKCON Mumbai is available to […]