Ubuntu’ is a Zulu (Africa) term that is part of the proverb, ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’. It means ‘I am because we are’. It’s the very essence of being human, being compassionate and of being aware that my humanity is tied to yours. Its one single word that has the potential to unite one and all on the grounds of being human first.

The very reason for me to recollect this term was flood scenes and depredation of Kerala at the hands of nature’s wrath. TV, print media and social media are replete with the stories of devastation. Nature never discriminate on the basis of political, regional, religious or gender grounds. It treats with abundance or with fury to one and all on the basis of equality.

When enjoying the abundance, one may not need the company. However in case of adversity, one needs the support… support to withstand it, to stay afloat and to gain balance later.

We are, from pre-historic ages, a species that’s gregarious. Time now has come to show that we really belong to one society that feels, throbs and acts for its every member. How can I be happy if my neighbour is facing the challenges and is struggling to live? How can I sleep peacefully when my brothers and sisters, out there at large, are left with no shelter? How can I savour delicacies when thousands of my brethren are without any morsel?

All these thoughts thronged my mind since last Sunday when my dear friends Jayshankar and Smitha narrated the shattering and ruinous stories from back there at Kerala. This husband and wife duo, the well-placed bankers, were at our residence to collect the donations for flood hit victims. This time working for their Sangham, they were running up and down, knocking on the doors of friends, for the noble cause. I felt thankful that through this trusted channel, we could be of some use.

Once they left, the thought of helping Kerala and its people when they needed it most, lingered on. Few hours later that day, my daughters’ friends came calling her for the dance practise.  They are, now a day, preparing for the dance performance during the Ganapati festival that is celebrated in our society, every year with much fan fair. At that very moment, I wondered whether the Lord himself would like to be entertained when some of his children are going through the toughest of the times? That gave me a thought of letting go of all the celebrations and welcoming the Lord with simplicity sans any grandeur, pomp and show. The donations towards the festivity can then be passed on to take care of some of the needs of the flood victims.

Next step was to bring this thought to the notice of the Ganapati Festival committee and my friends. I did the same. I am hopeful that it would be paid heed to and we would contribute in wiping the tears from the devastated faces.

There isn’t more joy in anything than seeing someone smile again. I am sure you all have experienced this in person. God isn’t in temples, churches or mosques. It’s in the people around us. Time now for us to see, to realise, to witness that God and do our bit.

Please consider this as a genuine plea to join the hands and help Kerala restore its normalcy. Lets help in rebuilding it. Its our turn to bring back the lost shine on the face of “God’s own country”


Sharing the details of some of the agencies that are working at the ground zero. Please contact them to know the requirement in terms of cash or kind.

1) CM’s relief fund:

A/C no: 67319948232

Bank Name: State Bank Of India, City Branch, Thiruvananthapuram

IFSC: SBIN0070028

PAN: AAAGD0583M

Account Type: Savings

Swift Code: SBININBBTO8

https://donation.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in/

2) OXFAM (NGO)

Coordinators…

Andrio Naskar: +91 9830584974

Basab Sarkar: +91 7080997766

3) Helpage India (NGO)

Coordinators…

Siji Cx:+914842310836

Athira P Mani: +918547992036

4)Art Of Living (NGO)

Coordinators…

Kiran: +919742980797

Shyam: +918861261442

5) Care India (NGO)

Coordinators…

Shyamala Ashok: +917708064030

6) SEWA International (NGO)

Coordinators…

Nishant Agarwal: +919910550176

Deepak Singh: +919654116997

Office: +91114307650

7) Childfund India (NGO)
Coordinator…

Manjusha Adlakha: +919717010244

8) Save The Children (NGO)

Coordinators…

Ray Kancharia: +919818792326

Devendra Tak: +919811168488

9) Action Aid (NGO)

Coordinators…

Esther: +919444951927

Avinash Sapru: +919811314654

Ravi SK: +919205813143

Kalyan Satpathy: +919868628120

Sandeep Saxena: +919899108499

10)Caritas India (NGO)

Coordinators…

+91 11- 23363390 / 23742339
Details of NGOS and CM relief fund courtesy Times Of India, dated Aug 23, 2018 (Page no 13)

Linking this post to #FridayReflections by Corinne Rodrigues of EverydayGyaan

 


37 Comments

abhiray59 · August 24, 2018 at 9:14 am

A lot of information on agencies. Very helpful. Thank you.

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 9:45 am

    Thanks. I wish this could be of some use to some one who is reading this post and thus contribute towards the rebuilding of Kerala.

BellyBytes · August 24, 2018 at 10:11 am

Anagha I can’t thank you enough for this useful information. Everyone has been talking of sending help through trusted channels but no one has enunciated them as clearly as you have. I will immediately follow up and send help where it is needed because as you say, we are all existing because of each other .

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 10:40 am

    Thank you so much Sunita. Indebted.

Saksham Vipanan · August 24, 2018 at 11:08 am

UBUNTU…

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    Ubuntu. Thank you Nandu.

iExpresss · August 24, 2018 at 11:26 am

Great post Anagha! There is always a way, if the intent is right. we must all come together to extent that helping hand.

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 1:25 pm

    SO rightfully expressed. There is always a way…
    Thanks for visiting and sharing this thought.

Sajid Akhter · August 24, 2018 at 11:43 am

Hi Anagha,

Thank you for this wonderful information. I completely agree with you that we should be compassionate towards our brothers and sisters and help them in whichever way we can in their time of need. May God be with them.

Thanks for sharing. May God bless us all.

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 1:26 pm

    Amen!
    May God be with them, with us, always!
    Thank you Sajid for sharing your thoughts and encouraging.

Food Opium · August 24, 2018 at 12:39 pm

Very nicely said about its time to reflect how enjoy as our fellow people suffer down in Kerala, have personally devastation of something similar in Surat when my brother in law was trapped in deluge of water released from dam for week or so. But very encouraging the kind of resilience out country has help is pouring in from all quarters to help. Will forward your post among my friends and family, and see if any contribute something to the cause. thanks again.

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 1:28 pm

    Thank you so much for forwarding and sharing the information in the post.
    Thank you for sharing your experience as well.

Nishit Sharma · August 24, 2018 at 5:22 pm

Thanks for sharing the useful information for people to come forward and provide all kind of help. Remember ‘India is one country and we are just separated by distance’. Wonderful post.

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    Thats a beautiful thought Nishit. Thanks for visiting and sharing your mind on the topic. Indebted.

Sachin Baikar · August 24, 2018 at 10:46 pm

Yes, it’s time to come together and extend our support to our brothers and sisters in Kerala.
Thanks for writing and sharing this post ? Anagha…Ubuntu ?

    Anagha Yatin · August 24, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    Ubuntu Sachin. Thanks for chipping in.

Pri · August 25, 2018 at 1:50 am

A genuine and heart felt attempt to offer solace and support during these trying times. I am happy we could contribute in some way and I urge people to do the same.
Also, I completely agree with you on the festivity bit. If only half the money used up in extravagant celebrations was used to help improve the lives of those who really need it…

    Anagha Yatin · August 25, 2018 at 5:26 am

    Thanks Priyanka. Wish everyone thinks on these lines.

mayuri6 · August 25, 2018 at 7:53 am

Some wonderful initiatives by you Anagha. This post, requesting the Ganpati community to keep celebrations simple and sharing so many contacts where we could donate money to help. Every bit truly counts.

    Anagha Yatin · August 25, 2018 at 8:52 am

    Thank you Mayuri. Ubuntu!

xhobdo · August 25, 2018 at 9:45 am

Great post.
Prayers for Kerala.
I Stand with Kerala. I donate for Kerala Flood Relief _()_

    Anagha Yatin · August 25, 2018 at 11:18 am

    Ubuntu Rupam. Thank you so much!

Varsh · August 25, 2018 at 12:05 pm

You are so right, Anagha! God would be happier if we reduce the pomp and splendour one year (which is mostly for us anyway) and spend time and energy in helping in whatever way we can. Nothing is too much when the devastation is so terrible.

Questy Musings · September 2, 2018 at 10:37 pm

I am because we are. So true… ubuntu is now a part of my vocabulary. The state needs the support in all possible ways.

    Anagha Yatin · September 2, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    Absokutely. As Kerala tries to stand on firm ground, we must keep our helping hand extended. Thanks for visiting.

Kalpana · September 4, 2018 at 7:19 am

I enjoyed your essay. Thanks for listing ways to help. I have already sent to the CM’s fund 🙂

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 7:24 am

    Wow, thats so heartening to know Kalpana. Thanks for visiting.

Varad · September 4, 2018 at 12:52 pm

For a second I got confused if you’d written about the operating system. 😀 That being out of the way, this is a heartfelt post Anagha. My company has tied up with other companies in our Industrial area to provide monetary and material support for Kerala. Couple of years back, there was a huge flood in Chennai as well and we drove down with food and clothes from Bangalore. One thing I have to say, amidst all the hatred and violence, when push comes to shove, we humans rally together. Makes me think, why can’t we do this on a daily basis?

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    I hear you Varad and so agree you. Why only in face of calamities or threats we rise above the rest. Where does it go hiding on day to day basis?
    Please accept my salute to you and all those who had teamed up for extending the help to Kerala. For me you and all involved are none less than heroes.

msarora · September 4, 2018 at 2:26 pm

This is the time when we have to stand together to help Kerala . Hope this help reach in the hand of right people.
#msarorasays

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 2:42 pm

    I hope too! Thanks for visiting and sharing your thought.

Vasantha Vivek · September 5, 2018 at 4:35 pm

Heart touching words. And those few lines at the end brought tears in my eyes. Let Kerala bounce back with all our support.

    Anagha Yatin · September 5, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    Amen, Vasantha.
    Thanks for visiting and sharing your thought.

greenmoksha India · September 6, 2018 at 11:55 am

UBUNTU should not be remembered only during disasters…A great post and this thought needs to spread all across our land . Our thoughts are only with our selves and family but we need to realize that we wont exist if others didn’t .

    Anagha Yatin · September 6, 2018 at 12:15 pm

    Thank you for visiting and resonating with my thought.

everydaybanterblog · September 7, 2018 at 10:05 pm

Wonderful post with a great intent… and my favourite word!

    Anagha Yatin · September 8, 2018 at 7:56 am

    Thank you for stopping by and for kind words.

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