St. John's Hindu Temple hosts weekend of meals to support victims of flooding in Kerala, India
They were hoping to sell 500 meals and instead, they sold 600
There was a special opportunity to buy a plate of Indian food from the Hindu Temple in St. John's Saturday night.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Malayali Association set up a take-out food counter to raise money for victims of the devastating flooding in Kerala, India, which has killed hundreds of people and displaced over a million.
Their goal was to sell 500 meals of curry, rice and naan bread. After just an hour of operating, they had sold 600.
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"I'm so surprised that the people here are supporting it. I know many people may not even have heard about Kerela but the support is amazing," said Mini Nair, who helped organize the event. She and her family are from Kerala.
"Not only in the good times but the bad times, we should come together irrespective of being rich or poor, or coming from India or here. We should get together and help people."
On Sunday, she and her team of volunteers are hosting a donate-what-you-can lunch at the Hindu Temple, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
'The rain started and never stopped'
On Aug. 8, heavy rain began to fall in Kerala, a tiny province in the southern part of India.
Antony Joseph, who lives in Newfoundland, was there for a summer vacation.
"The rain started and never stopped. It just kept on going and going," he said. "Luckily my house was in a higher area, there was no problems. Neighbours, family, cousins a lot of them lost their houses."
He drove 2,000 kilometres to find an airport that could take him back to Newfoundland. That journey usually takes him 24 hours. This time, it took 3 days.
He said the bridges, roads and houses have been all washed away, cutting off many routes throughout Kerala.
"People lost everything, actually. I've never seen anything like that," he said.
He was happy to help out at Saturday's dinner, and to see so many people buying food.
"Newfoundlanders are big at heart, they always come and help," he said.
Harvest festival
Nair said the weekend's fundraising events coincide with a ten-day harvest festival held each year in Kerala. Her group chose to hold the events on Saturday and Sunday because those days are the main celebration days during the festival, she said.
"We decorate our house, we wear new clothes and we make a lot of food ... more than 13 different curries," she said.
Here in St. John's, she said people from Kerala would normally get together to celebrate the festival. But because of the flooding, the festival has been cancelled all over the world.
Instead, they're sharing their food with happy customers in St. John's and helping family back home.
With files from Stephen Miller