TASMINA Takes a Stand: Flood Projects in Sri Lanka
A deluge of rainfall engulfs the sky. Drastically high temperatures bounce through the days. Dynamic winds dangerously whirl across the land.
All these components make up the perfect—rather harsh and threatening—seasonal change known as Monsoons.
Summer monsoons with great downpours and winter monsoons with forceful wind ranges are known to greatly affect and associate with countries located in South Asia. Sri Lanka is of the few that tremendously suffer through the repercussions of the monsoon season. Floods submerge the villages and cities, inconveniencing thousands of families each year, destroying property and belongings, and even taking away the lives of many.
In the last decade, disastrous floods with subsequent landslides have severely impacted Sri Lankans with notable effects on the Ratnapura, Kalutara, and Matara districts. According to floodlist.com, these areas endured severe weather and great floods which caused over 3,300 people to be displaced—in only this past August alone. This weather occurs in great amounts every year in Sri Lanka, displacing thousands of families and killing or injuring many.
Once the news was received over the summer about the floods, TASMINA immediately took action. Following the first week of August after the floods hit Ratnapura and Nawalapitiya, urgent requests were sent out to members by the TASMINA committee, accepting cash donations to directly help the families in Sri Lanka affected by the serious conditions by providing food and material packages. Funds were collected and aid was coordinated to different people. TASMINA has coordinators located in Sri Lanka to help handle projects between the countries that assist with organizing relief work with local organizations in Sri Lanka. When the funds are collected from TASMINA members in the US, they get transferred to the coordinators based in Sri Lanka who then purchase all of the items requested to be given to the local organizations. From there, the items get provided to the affected families.
The flood relief projects have been extremely successful, with numerous projects undertaken in Ratnapura and Nawalapitiya specifically. For this past summer’s floods in Sri Lanka, TASMINA was able to provide food packages to 100 families, and school supplies to 200 students, and distributed 600 copies of the Quran in Ratnapura. TASMINA has also successfully distributed mattresses, pillows, bedsheets, and cutlery for 50 families in Nawalapitiya.
While numerous Sri Lankans lost their lives due to the severity of the floods, TASMINA was able to help as many displaced families and people to the best extent. As Sri Lanka faces monsoon seasons with their dangerous and life-threatening floods each year, TASMINA members always have and always will come together to provide assistance that positively impacts their fellow Sri Lankan brothers and sisters back home.
