Catholic Relief Services today began distributing much needed housing materials in the front end of a massive relief pipeline destined for Gujurat s Kutch District, where hundreds of thousands were left homeless following the January 26 earthquake. Housing is the issue right now, explained Ken MacLean, Head of Emergency Response for Catholic Relief Services in Western India.
Crops survive earthquakes.
To a lesser extent, water supplies survive earthquakes. But houses often don t survive earthquakes, and that is what we are facing here right now. Catholic Relief Services distributed plastic tarps and heavy wool blankets to 349 families in the village of Nalappa, about 10 miles outside the city of Bhuj, where housing needs are critical. Also included in today s distribution were soap, jerry cans, and plastic buckets. Catholic Relief Services is focusing much of its procurement effort on tents, tarps and heavy blankets, a great need across Gujurat as chilly nighttime temperatures pose a further hardship for residents forced to live outside.