Volunteers for the Taiwan-headquartered global Buddhist charity and humanitarian organization Tzu Chi Charity Foundation have led efforts to bring relief in flood-hit areas of Assam, in northeastern India, coordinating community support and delivering essential household supplies to 1,300 families.
Heavy monsoon rains between late June and early August led to devastating floods that inundated the state of Assam, reaching a peak on 27–28 July. The ensuing emergency has claimed the lives of at least 100 people and displaced more than 700,000, submerging farmland and infrastructure and destroying 2,700 villages and the livelihoods of their residents.
The state government has reported that some 1.2 million people in all have been impacted by the disaster. And although floodwaters have since receded, the humanitarian crisis continues to affect families and communities.
Exceptionally heavy monsoon rains, which in some areas were up to 490 per cent above normal levels, contributed to overflowing water levels in rivers and tributaries and dozens of landslides, with some reports attributing the disaster to deforestation and mining in hill areas of Assam and neighboring Nagaland.
In the wake of the devastation, Tzu Chi relief teams traveled to Sivasagar District in Upper Assam to assess the damage and coordinate aid distribution for around 1,300 households in Nepali Khuti, Bangoli, and Amguri villages, which were especially hard hit.
With the focus on addressing the practical needs of those affected, beds, mattresses, fans, and water filters were essential to helping families recover and start their lives over.
“The rapid onset of the floodwaters left residents with little time to react,” Tzu Chi explained. “[Local resident] Mohammad Rubul Ali recalled escaping with his eight- and four-year-old children as the water reached chest height. Their attempt to reach the main road failed when it too was washed away. The family was forced to spend the night on a concrete roof in the pouring rain, without food or clean drinking water. While they survived, their home was stripped bare.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
Relief volunteers noted that while some government aid had arrived for the villagers, many families still lacked clean drinking water and a proper place to sleep. They also noted that the flooding had a catastrophic effect on the agrarian communities, devastating cash crops such as corn and rice, and forcing farming families to rebuild their livelihoods from zero.
“Organizing the relief distribution required extensive coordination and community involvement,” Tzu Chi observed. “The community’s willingness to help was evident in the days leading up to the distribution. Aroty Tanti, a local villager who works in a nearby tea garden, saw the [volunteer] teams preparing the high-school grounds and immediately picked up a broom to assist. Her own home, located on slightly higher ground, was spared from the flood, but she felt compelled to contribute to the recovery of her village.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
The distribution of supplies was only one aspect of the relief process. Volunteers conducted follow-up home visits alongside local representatives, hiking through thick mud when roads were impassable for vehicles.
“For older residents, the trauma of the floods brought lingering anxieties about the future,” Tzu Chi related. “[Local resident] Tilamaya Sharma, who is in her 60s and lives with her son and daughter-in-law, expressed a deep fear that the waters might return. She hopes to save enough money over the next two years to purchase land in a safer area.
“The path to full recovery in Assam remains long. Yet, through the practical provision of clean water and safe beds, combined with the presence of local youth and volunteers who walked through the mud to listen, families in Nepali Khuti are finding the stability needed to take their next steps forward.” (Tzu Chi Foundation)
The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Republic of China, more widely known as the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, was founded in Taiwan in 1966 by the Buddhist nun and Dharma teacher Master Cheng Yen. With a focus on “putting compassion into action,” the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation is a UN-accredited NGO with some 10 million supporters and 432 offices worldwide across 51 countries, undertaking regular activities in the fields of humanitarian aid, medical care, education, and environmental sustainability.
As a global icon of socially engaged Buddhism, Master Cheng Yen has expressed a deeply held belief that all people are capable of manifesting the same great compassion as the Buddha. She has noted that true compassion is not simply feeling sympathy for the suffering of others, but is found in reaching out to relieve suffering with concrete action.
Master Cheng Yen is popularly known in Taiwan as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Buddhism, the others being: Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain; Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan; and Master Wei Chueh, founder of Chung Tai Shan. These four global Buddhist orders, correspondingly known as the “Four Great Mountains,” have grown to become among the most influential Chinese Buddhist organizations in the world.
See more
Tzu Chi Foundation
Communities unite to aid flooded villages in Assam (Tzu Chi Foundation)
Flood death toll in India’s Assam reaches 100 as thousands lose their homes (NPR)
Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends (World Weather Attribution)
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