End of 2014 was a total eye opener for me.  The country was struck by a very bad flood which affected many territories on the east and west coasts.

This is a photo an aunt sent on 25th December, taken from the second floor of her house.  The water level has risen and the surau opposite (green roof) was gradually flooding.  It was a fine day.  Sunny and no rain.  Later that night, we lost contact.  Nearly a week after, we found out from relatives that they had to evacuate as water entered the house.

In another part of the country, a friend sent me this photo.  This is her two story house after the rain has stopped.  Initially, when the flood was at its peak, she told me that they could only see the rooftop.  This photo is taken from a bridge near her house.

Another friend showed me her mother's house after the water has subsided.  See the brownish  colour on the house?  That was how high the water was during the flood.

This muddy scene is inside the house.  Not much could be saved.

Only debris remain ....

Innalillahi wainna ilaihi roji'un.  This is what the Quran teaches you to say when something unpleasant happens.  "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return"

What could we, who were spared by the flood do to help ease the burden of all these people?  It was reported that about 200,000 people were affected.  Some lost their homes, their belongings and even their loved ones.  Not forgetting no electricity and fresh water supplies for weeks.

I believe that one small step from each one of us will be useful to them.  We looked around for people who also wanted to help.  We were told that food supplies ran low during the flood.  Together with friends and volunteers that sprung from nowhere, we collected whatever we could to send aid to the victims.

This is an example of the basic needs we could think of for those staying at temporary shelters.  Something that could make them smile a bit.

We looked for volunteers who could deliver these to them directly.  Alhamdulillah, many jumped at the opportunity to help.

 The second phase was to help them clean up the houses and put their lives back to a livable condition.  For that, we bought gears to help clean their houses, collected basic needs for their homes such as portable mattresses, blankets, towels, mats and other necessities.

These basic things are not easy to find at the affected areas.  Therefore everything was bought from here.  Below is a snapshot of the cleaning activities some angels did to help an elderly.

More details of the above photo can be found at pistwist.blogspot.com

Thank you all.