ROBBINSVILLE, NJ — A New Jersey Hindu temple is helping send relief to Nepal after deadly flash flooding there left more than 1,000 people dead and many others still unaccounted for.
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville is taking part in the response as rescue efforts continue. Volunteers say the temple is working with the larger BAPS network to move supplies, food and prayers toward affected communities.
The effort comes as a New Jersey woman is among those reported missing. Temple volunteers said the disaster has hit especially hard because the scale and speed of the flooding were so difficult to grasp.
Robbinsville temple says service is part of its mission
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham is the largest Hindu temple in the United States, and volunteers say it has welcomed more than 4 million visitors over the past three years. They describe it as a place where many people come to find peace.
Volunteer Yogesh Patel said the temple’s work in the Nepal response fits a simple principle that guides the community. “The fundamental idea is to be a good person,” he said.
Temple leaders said that message has taken on added meaning now that BAPS members are responding to a disaster affecting families in Nepal and people in the United States with ties to the region.
BAPS volunteers in Nepal started relief work on day one
Patel said BAPS volunteers in Nepal began helping immediately after the flooding. He said the group has a center there, which allowed volunteers to start moving supplies without waiting.
According to Patel, the first priorities were basic necessities. Volunteers worked to gather grains, rice, lentils, food and cooking utensils and get them to the hardest-hit areas as quickly as possible.
The Robbinsville temple is one of several BAPS temples sending aid to Nepal through a group in India. Temple volunteers said that wider network has helped coordinate the response and push support toward communities that need it most.
Missing people add a painful local connection for New Jersey families
Along with the death toll, the flooding has left thousands of people missing. That has made the disaster especially painful for families still waiting for word about loved ones.
Among those reported missing is Mukti Belahal of Princeton Junction. Temple volunteers said that kind of uncertainty has been crushing for relatives who do not know where family members are or whether they are safe.
Patel said the situation is hard to imagine on a human level. He pointed to the force of a wall of water racing down a hill and flooding areas in seconds.
Prayer and supply efforts continue as rescue teams search Nepal
As search-and-rescue operations continue in Nepal, volunteers at the Robbinsville temple say the relief effort remains active. Food, supplies and other necessities are still being delivered to affected communities.
The temple’s spiritual leader has also offered prayers for the people who died and for those still missing. Volunteers said that spiritual support is part of how the community responds alongside the physical aid.
Temple leaders said they hope the service-minded spirit promoted at BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham encourages others to offer positive thoughts and prayers for those affected by the floods.
A disaster with reach far beyond Nepal
The flooding has resonated well beyond the country where it struck because of the size of the loss and the number of people still being searched for. Volunteers said that is one reason the Robbinsville temple has focused on both practical help and compassion.
Patel said the community’s hearts immediately go out to people suffering through the disaster. He said the combination of deaths, missing relatives and destroyed areas has made the crisis especially difficult to absorb.
For BAPS volunteers, the response is still centered on getting food and supplies to the worst affected areas while rescue crews continue looking for survivors and the missing.
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