By Thomas Scaria
Chooralmala, Dec 9, 2024: A Church group comprising priests, laity and nuns, on December 8 handed over six temporary houses to families, who had lost their homes in a massive landslide in Wayanad, a district in the southern Indian state of Kerala more than four months ago.
“Each disaster is a call to humanity to get united and respond to the victims with all urgency”, said Claretian Father Kannanthanam, who initiated the Wayanad Relief Group, a network of likeminded citizens to respond to the relief and rehabilitation needs of the landslide victims.
The group handed over the houses at Chooralmala, one of the worst affected villages.
Father Jibin Vattukulam, the parish priest of Chooralmala’s St. Sebastian Church, who identified the beneficiaries, said the initiatives from the Church circles marked the second phase of the relief works.
“Though the government has allotted rented houses to the victims, most of them are at faraway places and they could not attend to their farming at their own village,” said the priest who pointed out that only the Church groups have so far addressed the housing needs with immediacy.
Earlier, Mario Joseph, a well-known preacher and evangelist who headed Philokalia (spiritual love) Foundation, had handed over four houses to the victims on December 5.
Last week, the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council announced the launch of a project to build and hand over 100 houses to the beneficiaries after it identified the land.
“This is a great support to us which came at the right time,” said Lijo Thekkilakattil, one of the beneficiaries who lost his parents in the landslide.
Speaking to Matters India, the youth with his wife and child, narrated how the Church stood with them as they were recovering from the big loss of their parents
“We lost our parents with the house where we were born and brought up, but God spared us to receive the key for our new house,” said Thekkilakatil, an accountant with an Indian agricultural business corporation .
T. Siddique, who represented Kalpetta in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, handed over keys of the new houses to six families, said the Church organizations were the first to respond to the housing needs of the landslide victims. They also have worked hand in hand with the government in relief and rescue operations.
Father Thomas Therakam, the local coordinator of the project, said the housing project faced several challenges because of continuous rain in the region and the delay in getting raw materials from China.
He said Chinese technology can assemble a house in a week and use it as a temporary shelter until a permanent house is ready. He also said the government too could use the technology.
Jijith Padipurackal, another beneficiary, pointed out that the new houses “are near to our own land and farms, so that we can continue to make our living.”
He said the government-allotted rented houses were far from their village making it difficult for them to travel to their work places. “With these new homes, we can resettle happily till we get a new house,” he added.
Sibu George, who coordinated the housing project on behalf of Project Vision, a Claretian initiative in Bangalore, said more such houses will be built in leased lands as a step to rehabilitate the affected victims “closer to their lands and farms.”
“This is a temporary arrangement till they get a permanent house from the Government of Kerala,” he added.
Great gesture!