A young woman from Kerala has captured hearts on social media after visuals from Gaza showed displaced families expressing gratitude to her for arranging drinking water during the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

How did Kerala’s Sreereshmi Udayakumar help 250 Gaza families?

Sreereshmi Udayakumar, a humanitarian from Kochi and founder of the ‘Koottu’ collective, coordinated the delivery of a 3,000-litre water truck to 250 displaced families in southern Gaza, with support from her friends and well-wishers. The truck reached its destination on Wednesday, amid severe shortages caused by the war.

Viral videos show Palestinian women and children holding signs that read, “Thank you Reshmi and her friends from Kerala, India.” The gesture has drawn widespread praise across platforms like Instagram and X.

The efforts of Sreereshmi, who has been in close contact with Gaza families for nearly eight months, became especially relevant as the local water sources turned unsafe due to the ongoing conflict — triggering a rise in jaundice, diarrhoea, and skin infections. With clean water becoming scarce, she noted that the families now need at least 6,000 litres of water daily.

Speaking about the impact of the aid, Sreereshmi shared, “My dearest people… My heart is overflowing. It was during a night when I sat in this little room, restless with helplessness, that I came across my dear Mosheer and Wesam.

I reached out to those I knew, and from each one — with love and compassion — they gave what they could, even parting with half of what they had for the children of Gaza.”

She further added, “What we could gather for Gaza has finally reached the hands it was meant for. They even shared a video so I can show you with full respect and transparency. That every rupee, every bit of love, every prayer you entrusted to me truly made its way to the people who needed it most.”

Sreereshmi is married to Yasir and continues to work from Kerala to coordinate relief efforts for conflict-affected civilians.