Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news from India.
Extreme monsoons with record amounts of precipitation beginning mid-June in West Bengal state claimed at least 11 lives and displaced nearly 200,000 residents.

In the provincial capital Kolkatā, hundreds of trees were uprooted by strong winds as some 17,000 homes in the city and surrounding regions were destroyed.

Conveying all her love and prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai donated US$10,000, asking that our Association members please go to help the worst afflicted victims.

This amount could obtain US$139,000 in urgent necessities if bought in the United States, based on India's cost of living.

On June 29th, our Association’s relief team from Formosa (Taiwan) and Mumbai, India met in Kolkatā, covering their own travel and related expenses of US$4,000.
Arriving in the hard-hit districts of East and West Midnapore, they were assured by officials that the residents had been provided with sufficient necessities, so the relief team distributed SOS fliers on the vegan solution to such climate-related disasters.

After receiving permission from West Bengalese officials, they next traveled to the remote district of Purulia, a 10-hour drive from Kolkatā, where no other organization had yet arrived with aid.

Bringing 2,000 items of clothing along with 9,000 kilograms of rice and 5,000 kilograms of potatoes, they arrived in Purulia and met with the local police, who helped complete the transport while also escorting our Association's relief team to the village of Balarampur.

This heavily forested region was home primarily to indigenous aboriginal residents, with many who the relief team discovered had traveled across mountains to obtain the much-needed assistance.

On the first day, the food, clothing and SOS fliers were distributed to some 1,500 people across six villages, with children also receiving candy treats. As our Association members then had to depart, the police offered to help deliver the remaining aid packages to the most afflicted storm victims over the following days.

Mr. C. Sudhakar, Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer, Additional Superintendent of Police, Purulia, West Bengal, India (M): We very much thank the Guruji for giving the opportunity to work with you to distribute this rice and all of the material to the poor people, and we are looking ahead to cooperate with you in the future. Thank you.  

Relief recipient, Balarampur, Purulia, West Bengal, India (M): Thank you, Master Ching Hai. 

Relief recipient, Balarampur, Purulia, West Bengal, India (F): Thank you, Master Ching Hai.  

VOICE: Our appreciation, Purulia police, for your caring assistance, as we also thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for her detailed aid to the disaster-stricken, and our Association’s relief team for their diligent efforts.

We pray for the smooth recovery of regular day-to-day lives in West Bengal, and that all may be safeguarded from such calamities through humanity’s eco-stabilizing actions.