Rebuilding Lives After India’s Disastrous Landslides
In the early hours of 30 July, after torrential rains, catastrophic landslides struck southwestern India’s beautiful mountainous districts. As the earth gave way, it unleashed a series of deadly landslides, one after another, in the days that followed.
The human toll is significant. In one area, Wayanad, more than 400 people have died, and 250 others remain unaccounted for, leaving their families clinging to hope in the face of heartbreak. The collapse of the main bridge — the community’s lifeline to the nearest town — has made rescue efforts heartbreakingly difficult.
Pope Francis has called upon the world to stand with the survivors and their deceased loved ones in prayer and solidarity, expressing his empathy after the Angelus on 4 August. Here at CNEWA, we are ready to do everything we can to support the displaced, the mourning and the brave workers who face the daunting task of rebuilding lives from the rubble.
CNEWA has long been a beacon of hope for India’s faithful, supporting its dynamic Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Catholic churches. In this time of immense need, we must rally together once more.
The Syro-Malabar eparchies of Mananthavady and Thamarassery have reached out to CNEWA with urgent pleas for life-saving financial support. Their on-the-ground social service charities are distributing food, clothes, drinking water and hygiene products in the relief camps set up for those who lost their homes, buried under mud and debris. The churches have also dispatched trained counselors to help survivors process their trauma through psychological support. But there is still work to do — after the immediate needs are met, the process of healing and rebuilding begins. And at this moment, there is so much to rebuild.