Emergency Relief in Gujarat

[Guest guest]

Dear Prabhus,

 

Many of you must have heard about the devastating earthquake that struck

Gujarat. The latest CNN report states:

 

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AHMEDABAD, India -- Funeral pyres lit the night sky Saturday in western

India's devastated Gujarat state, where grief-stricken survivors of a

massive earthquake waited for supplies and officials said the rapidly rising

death toll could reach 15,000.

 

Heavy cranes moved concrete and steel, while relatives and friends

frantically dug through the crumbled mess with bare hands, searching for

anyone who might still be alive.

 

Gujarati official P.K. Lahiri said rescuers had pulled more than 3,200

bodies from the dusty rubble of towns and villages shattered by Friday's 7.9

magnitude earthquake, the worst to hit India in more than 50 years.

 

But with thousands still missing and time chipping away at any hope for

finding more survivors, Indian Defense Secretary George Fernandes returned

from a tour of a hard-hit town near the epicenter of the quake saying that

the death toll could reach 15,000.

---

 

On Friday night my wife and I got a call from her mother. My wife's brother

Darshan and his 55 year-old mother had amazingly survived the earthquake

after standing on a 3x3 ft. ledge on the fifth floor of a building that had

collapsed around them!!! They both cried hysterically as they looked down

and saw body parts and all their belongings in pieces on the ground around

them. After one hour, they climbed to the ground using a rope. They were

some of the "lucky" ones to survive, although like many others, they will

have to rebuild their lives again. All they have left are the clothes on

their bodies. They don't even have shoes. If you have ever thought about

giving in charity, now is a good time. Let's all reach out and help the

Gujarati community.

 

The Gujarati community has always been very supportive of ISKCON and

therefore ISKCON should do whatever it can to help the survivors of this

horrible calamity. Surely, many of ISKCON's Gujarati community must be

related to or know someone who was affected by this devastating earthquake.

 

Food for Life Global has already raised $5000 to be used for prasadam

distribution and other relief efforts. We urge all members of ISKCON to send

money to support the local ISKCON/Food for Life relief efforts.

 

For those in the US you can send money directly to Food for Life Global. In

this way your donation will be tax deductible. We will then wire the money

directly into a special emergency relief fund in Gujarat and oversee the use

of those funds.

 

Here are the details for wiring money directly...

 

Bank Name: Bank of America

Address: 10000 Falls Rd., Potomac, MD 20854 USA

ABA # : 052001633

Account # :3933988254

Account Name: Food for Life Global

 

PLEASE CONSIDER THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!

 

Sincereley,

 

Priyavrata das

(Paul Turner)

Food for Life Global

www.ffl.org