One of the largest landslides from last years Uttarakhand flooding started far above the Mandakini River at Bhiri. Houses were destroyed, but because it happened one week after the flood, the government considered this a seperate incident. The affected families did not qualify for the same level of aid as other flood victims. We found […]
Returning from Kashmir our Medical Team stopped at “Adopted Villages” in Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, and Harayana. The mood was quite different. The people know of Amma. They know we will return. The clinics were smaller and the doctors were able to take more time with each patient. Some even got to visit the villages. Wandering […]
Three years ago, a group of houses in the village of Siror, near Uttarkashi, began to slide into the Ganges. Families were given temporary shelters like the blue structure below, on the left. However, they were not scheduled for any further assistance to build better homes. Many would be living in these tin sheds for […]
Unlike the Kashmiri Medical Relief Camps which involved 30 people, it was only Br. Amit and I who returned to Bandipora to distribute 3000 blankets. I was busy documenting the project, so the whole job fell on Br. Amit. I write about him, not because he is exceptional in any way. Rather, he is a […]
I saw her early in the morning, a small, tentative woman. She would come close to the truck for a short while then retreat, afraid to have hope. I knew by her manner she would not be on the list for a blanket. She tried to tell the list-makers to include her name also in […]
You can not simply drive to a village with an open heart and start handing out blankets. It would cause a riot. Instead, we rely on “The List”, a hand written record of all the village families. Depending on the accuracy and integrity of the Panch (Village Mayor), his list will ensure a fair and […]
It is the end of the road. The edge of nowhere. Vast marshland receding into Wular Lake. Aid comes slowly, if at all to Baneyari. Nearly 10,000 people live here, scraping a meager existence from the land and water. At first hostile as they thought we were government, but they soon warmed as they realized […]
Laharwalpora was an area that had its structures under water for more many days. Long queue of people gathered in no time as soon as we started or medical camp there. After those dreadful waves of flood, soothing waves of Amma’s love and compassion was reaching out to this village via the medical camp. For […]
The trucks had come ahead of us. Just as the sun was setting, we stepped out into a pool of Kashmiri faces which surged upon us. Concerned for my safety as a foreigner, there were frantic shouts of “Get him back in the car”. Our jeep retreated to the edge of the crowd. What to […]