Food Donation this Weekend

We are putting together some plans to go to Ramavaram this weekend to deliver food to the slum residents. Over the past week and a half, there have been heavy rains which have caused significant flooding in Chennai and, sadly, even a few deaths.

The forecast for the rest of the week shows that the rains in Chennai are going to progress and possibly even worsen.

In order to play our part - small as it may be - we are trying to arrange a trip to Ramavaram to distribute food to each household in the slum. This will include:

• 2 kilograms of rice
• 1/2 kilogram of toor dhal (pigeon peas)

When the North East Monsoon first began in October, we carried out a similar task. Heavy rains in slums not only causes spoilage of foods and a rise in disease - it also means a heavy economic loss as the family breadwinners cannot go out and earn money for that day. In fragile economies such as those at Ramavaram, a loss of daily income can mean a loss of food and empty stomachs.

We hope to be able to arrange this despite the fact that many of our members have major exams coming up and won't be able to participate. Because of this, we will need all the help we can get for this task! If you are willing to volunteer and help out, please contact us. Also, as mentioned before, this is an expensive undertaking for a group as small as ours. The expenses for this kind of project are about Rs. 6,500 (approximately USD 130.) If this is something you are interested in sponsoring, please contact us as well.

An ongoing weather story is the on dealing with the North East Monsoon and the long "swoon" in rain over southern India this month. The lengthy break in the rain that began in late October has left some areas (of which greater Chennai is one) short on rain at the heart of the vital, short rainy season...

What about a tropical cyclone? Well, I am beginning to think the one is in the works come the end of the week. The GFS has been consistently showing a well-marked low over the southern Bay of Bengal as of Saturday and Sunday. Something to follow carefully.

-Jim Andrews, Accuweather.com

Photo: The Hindu