WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Baptist World Alliance has responded to Cyclone Aila, which killed nearly 200 and destroyed thousands of homes May 25 in Bangladesh and India.
Baptist World Aid, the BWA's relief-and-development arm, sent grants totaling $12,000 for emergency relief.
Leor Sarkar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship, one of three BWA member bodies in the country, told BWA officials the greatest immediate need is fresh water and dry food. He said most wells in an area Baptist leaders visited were contaminated with seawater, and a number of survivors are living on boats.
Sarkar said the Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship has already begun distributing drinking water and food. BWAid contributed $5,000 to the cause.
Sarkar, a member of the BWA Commission on Church Leadership and the Promotion and Development Committee, said 27 Baptist churches in five districts in Bangladesh were affected by the disaster.
BWAid sent another $7,000 to Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha, another member body in Bangladesh. The money will be used to purchase food for about 2,000 families through the group's Social Health and Education Development board commonly known as SHED.
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