Christian Aid sends relief to Laila-affected

Christian Aid has sent £50,000 in aid to its partners to help those affected by cyclone Laila, which hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh on May 20.
Christian Aid is an international development charity which works in around 50 countries.
The category one cyclone unleashed heavy rains across 777 villages. Twenty seven people were killed and more than one million have been affected.
An estimated 100,000 vulnerable people were able to take shelter in schools, government buildings and cyclone shelters – some of which had been built with Christian Aid support following previous disasters such as the 2004 Asia tsunami.
“If such a disaster had hit Bihar where communities and government are less able to cope, this could have been a lot worse,” says Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Christian Aid’s regional emergency manager.
Christian Aid partners have reported that those in temporary camps are still in need of food, sanitation and drinking water.
Christian Aid has sent an initial £50,000 to help partners meet the basic needs of those who have not been reached by government supplies, especially the most excluded such as those living in remote areas.
CASA, a Christian Aid partner with extensive experience of emergency relief activities, has so far distributed food to 2100 people and plan to feed another 10,800 families in coming weeks.