When you help raise a child or teach them over the course of many years on their path to adolescence, their joys are your joys. Their pain is your pain.
Because of your generosity, Shila spent six years in a loving childcare home. When she finished high school, she enrolled in nursing school. Her accomplishments brought joy to those around her. And when disaster struck, her pain was shared, her loss palpable. And, thanks to you, the response was swift.
The rain that befell Shila’s village was no ordinary rain. For days, it pounded on fragile roofs, eventually rising above windows and doors, threatening to swallow entire houses.
When the waters rose around Shila’s home, her sick father and family did all they could to escape.
It wasn’t enough.
For three days, the entire family–Shila, her mother, father, and sister, languished on top of their roof, waiting for rescue.
Finally, a makeshift bamboo boat reached them and they painstakingly made their way from village to village, holding dead electricity lines to fight the rushing current. When they reached a Navy boat, it seemed their ordeal was coming to an end.
And then, the impossible.
The boat capsized. Shila’s entire family, as well as the 15 other passengers, were flung into the flood waters. Shila’s mother had to be rushed to the emergency room after passing out amidst the churning water.
For the next ten days, Shila and her family stayed at a relief camp, not knowing the condition of their home, or if they even had a home left at all.
Because of you, they do. The house had been under water for seven days and was completely uninhabitable. But your funds enabled a BGR crew to clean their house, buy groceries and repair her father’s rickshaw. You also supported much-needed maintenance work on the house and the purchase of utensils.
The loss of a home is always traumatic; the rebuilding can be excruciating. From the outside, watching a loved one suffer can easily lead to a feeling of helplessness.
But that is not the end of this story. This story began and ends with outstretched hands, open hearts, and the hope of tomorrow.
Published April 3, 2019