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Kolkata in the Aftermath of Cyclone Amphan, June 2020
Cyclone Amphan has hit the states of West Bengal and Odisha hard and the impact is exacerbated due to the existing pandemic in the country. The situation in India is dire. Food shortages and lack of access to healthcare are continuing to make life unbearable for so many. It is difficult to know exactly how many people are infected with Covid-19 due to issues around testing but it is getting close to 300,000 now and we expect that figure to grow considerably.
The Sundarbans, and many parts of Kolkata, have been devastated by the super cyclone. Much of the Sundarbans is still underwater – risk of disease is high and poisonous snakes are a constant threat. The HOPE Emergency Response Teams have to deal with the public health crisis, starvation following the lockdown and now the damage from Cyclone Amphan. It really has been too much to bear for our colleagues and friends. It has also been very difficult to watch their suffering from here. Sometimes we have felt helpless but, because of your support, we are not giving up HOPE, especially now.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_top=”30px”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”44476″ img_size=”400×270″ style=”vc_box_shadow_border” onclick=”link_image”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”44475″ img_size=”400×270″ style=”vc_box_shadow_border” onclick=”link_image”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_top=”30px”][vc_column][vc_column_text]HOPE Emergency Response Update
When we started this emergency work on 23rd March our aim was to reach 150,000 people with food supplies by June 30th. Your donations have been helping so much. So far we have provided food to 101,810 people with Covid-19 Emergency Funds and 9,600 have been fed so far with the Amphan Emergency Response Funds.
Even in the face of such a myriad of obstacles and challenges we are still fundraising as best we can. The recent appearance of Oscar winning actor and HOPE Patron Jeremy Irons helped raise almost €120,000 in the days after his appearance on The Late Late Show on May 22nd. HOPE were very grateful and honoured to be invited on to the show, which gave us a powerful platform to tell a little of our story. We are so thankful to the wonderful Irish public for their amazing generosity.
HOPE Projects Update
The children in our homes are safe and well. We continue to fundraise for the homes and the hospital, which have to remain open and the Lifeskills café has re-opened for takeaways.
As everyone tries to navigate their way through a new normal around the world, we are continuing to keep our promise to the children in our care in Kolkata, their families and communities. Thanks to your support we are able to keep HOPE going and to provide help to those most in need right now.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
