A disaster you may not have heard about.
Hundreds of thousands of people were hard hit by unseasonal monsoon rains in Sri Lanka at the end of May. The unexpected heavy rainfall resulted in flooding that killed 20 people and destroyed 466 houses.
Many thousands more were forced to flee their houses and lost their possessions, becoming refugees overnight. Now those affected face serious threats to their health as they seek to rebuild their lives. Around half the Christians of Sri Lanka live in the affected area of the country.
Heavy rains brought a staggering 330mm of rainfall within a 24 hour period. The rainfall affected up to 500,000 people, and as the flooding subsided 15,364 persons were reported to be sheltering in 77 relief camps.
Meanwhile those who have returned home face serious public health threats. Garbage has polluted fresh water sources, and wells, lakes and streams are highly vulnerable. Diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A, diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, chickenpox, viral flu, rabies, dengue fever and rat fever (Leptospirosis) will spread in unsanitary conditions.
Sri Lanka is majority Buddhist, but the area most heavily affected by the flooding is also home to over 870,000 Christians, many of whom have become victims of the flood. “If you are able to help them, it will be a big blessing for them,” wrote a village pastor whose church was trying to help flood victims with food and clothes.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, comments: “Sri Lankan Christians have been beset by problems on every side in recent years. They suffer persecution at the hands of Hindus, Muslims and especially Buddhists, including attacks on their church leaders and buildings. Some Christians work in terrible conditions on tea and rubber plantations. Many were caught up in the violence and deprivation of the long civil war which finished last year. Add to this natural disasters such as the current floods, and you can see how much our brothers and sisters need our prayers and our practical support.”
If you would like to help Sri Lankan Christians affected by the floods, please go to .
http://barnabasfund.org/UK/News/Appeals/