When the devastating rainfall and flood struck Kerala and thousands of people were left homeless, my only regret was that I couldn’t pitch in to make things comfortable for these people who had sought refuge in evacuation camps. My parents soon became voluntary workers in one of the camps and I badly wanted to assist them. But I realised that my place was at home. In a way I was also helping them by taking care of my siblings. But the thirst to get into the thick of the problem and battle it out was strong in me. Finally I got my long looked for opportunity. My parents decided to take us to the evacuation camp on Monday, 20th August, 2018. We were all thrilled. We soon reached the large building which served as a home to all the homeless. All of us were taken to a store room where the enthusiastic workers were sorting the different clothes. Though all of them were complete strangers to me, they met me with the warmth that cannot be equalled. Even I found myself talking happily with all the willing volunteers. It was a great experience for me. My mother asked me to fold clothes so that it could be systematically arranged. I was as pleased as a little girl who is given a new toy. I didn’t care if my work was small or insignificant, I just wanted to pitch in and do something. All the volunteers were united in providing material comforts to these ill-fated people. All of us worked with a will. There were no distinctions. Everybody worked with a common aim. The rich and the poor, the young and the old, women and men, all worked together without any friction. I am glad for Kerala. This shows the splendid qualities that we Keralites possess. Of course there were indeed some flaws. The demands of some people were too ridiculous for words. One person came asking for Fair and Lovely cream and another person insisted on wearing a red shirt only. Some of the workers insisted in stirring up quarrels, but most of them were too good-natured to take it to heart. Even though I only worked for a little while, I felt rather tired out when I reached home. One of the youngsters who had helped in cleaning the houses recounted his experiences to us. He said that it was the most tiring work that he had attempted and that even with one whole day of strenuous work, the house was still not clean enough to be inhabited. Let me take some time to explain the evacuation camp in which my parents worked. The camp was in at Don Bosco Cultural Centre. It had two large and spacious halls where the displaced people slept. There was also a mess hall where they ate their meals which were generously provided by kind-hearted people. There were several storerooms with newspaper and cardboard spread on the floor and large plastic bags and cartons lining the walls. The clothes for the people which were amply supplied by generous patrons, were brought to these rooms. The volunteers sorted these clothes and distributed them according to the wants of the people. There were also others to write down the list of things needed and to write down the details of the displaced people. The camp had about 300 people which got reduced to 60 people later. Altogether it was a delightful and informative experience. I am glad I was able to do my part faithfully and I sincerely pray that God will be a solace to all these afflicted people who have lost all they had.