Medical camp organised by The Art of Living volunteers in Kotturpuram, Chennai.
People have forgotten their animosity and have come together after the floods in Chennai. Nature has strange ways of uniting people. I deeply appreciate the hard work of our volunteers who are engaged in distributing over 500 tons of relief material in Chennai.
~ Gurudev
Normal life was affected and several areas inundated as heavy rain lashed Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. The heavy downpour has affected vehicular and air traffic and also train movement. People were stranded in their houses with no food supplies or electricity. The severe water-logging prevented people from getting out of their houses.
The Art of Living volunteers were in the forefront of spontaneous service for the flood affected areas across Chennai during the torrential rains in November 2015. Because of heavy rains, many people became homeless while many were stuck inside their homes completely cut off from essential supplies. Several Art of Living volunteers engaged in distributing freshly cooked food, fresh buns, biscuits, essential food items like rice and dal, clothes, blankets, and medicines in an unprecedented scale and spirit of service.
The Art of Living volunteers provided flood relief in ICF Perambur, Kotturpuram TNHB slums, West Saidapet, Tiruvanmiyur, Nanganallur, Medavakkam, Shollinganallur, Ramapuram, Nandambakkam and many more areas across Chennai.
Many volunteers went into the flooded areas to provide help even where the water was above waist level. They even went to areas where drainage water and rain water were flowing together to save the people and distribute food, clothes and blankets. Relief kit in some areas consisted of one lungi, saree, towel, bed sheet and biscuits for children.
Volunteers at the Art of Living centre of ICF Perambur cooked for 1000 people, issued bed sheets, lungi and sarees for more than 100 families. Around 40 volunteers reached the slums, which was in total darkness due absence of electric supply. Nonetheless, they braved the situation and reached every house in the slums.
Nanganallur center also distributed essential things like rice, dal, dresses, bed sheets, candles etc. in the slum areas. The Ramapuram center team also distributed freshly cooked vegetable rice to more than 1000 flood affected people around Nandambakkam area in five relief camps.
In West Saidapet, people were stuck inside their houses. A team of volunteers along with local people distributed food packets by going door to door. They spent over 3 hours in the muddy water to distribute close to 250 food packets, while the water level rose to chin level.
Many more volunteers in various centers have also contributed to the relief work.
