World Vision, in collaboration with Emmanuel
Hospital Association, has distributed over 12,000 blankets to people suffering
from an extreme cold-wave in the district of Mirzapur and Ballia in the
northern state of Uttar Pradesh. World Vision Hongkong had contributed
US$31,500 towards this relief operation.
Around 20 people have died due to the
cold-wave in the district of Ballia.
The villagers did not have suitably warm clothes to wear. "There was no sunlight for 10 straight days in January and it rained continuously for 20 hours. The relief work was very useful as we were able to help the people in their time of need," said Jaykumar, the Area Development Program Manager of Ballia.
"Our blankets saved a lot of people sleeping out in the cold," said Mr. Anand Masih, a World Vision worker. "We helped 30 widows, 198 special needs children and some orphans, besides other poor people in our target area," he said.
In Delhi, Umeed project which works among Afghan refugees, distributed over 300 blankets to the Afghan refugees, especially to the new-comers who were having a difficult time. "The people were very happy. I felt glad because this time, we were able to give to each and every needy person. Before, we could not help everyone in this manner," said Manuni, a counselor and social worker of Umeed.
"We came across people without even a single blanket at home. So, they were really thankful for the help," said Subodh who works with Umeed.
"It gave us a lot of joy that we were able to do something for them," said Gloria Landge, the Manager of Umeed.