DHAKA, Bangladesh (CNS): Responding to a government appeal, Catholic groups have been distributing food and relief materials to help victims of the recent heavy flooding in Bangladesh.
Caritas Bangladesh said in a statement on August 5 that it had pledged about $876,000 and that the Catholic social service agency had started distributing food items to 7500 affected families, reported UCA News, an Asian Church news agency.
Caritas Bangladesh is the local affiliate of Caritas Internationalis, an umbrella organisation of Catholic aid agencies.
Besides helping flood victims, Caritas Bangladesh said it was distributing rice and molasses in the worst-hit district of Sirajganj.
It distributed clothing, bedding and other household essentials to landslide victims in several districts.
Catholic Relief Services, the overseas aid agency of US Catholics and a member of Caritas Internationalis, announced on August 8 that it had increased its funding to $5 million for South Asia.
The Associated Press reported on August 7 that at least 376 people died as a result of recent monsoons and floods in India and Bangladesh. Many other low-lying areas of Asia, including parts of China, Nepal and Pakistan, also have been hit badly.
(Copyright Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.)
