Grassroots Projects for Tsunami
It has been a few months since the tsunami hit Southeast Asia and I spent close to 2 months in Nagapattinam (Nagai, in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India) my birth place where it was hit the hardest.
What I saw in the media didn't prepare me for the real destruction of the tsunami. Hundreds of boats were littered though out the city streets as well as building compounds and even houses. It was hard to imagine how those boats got there? The tidal waves rose close to 50 feet high. They lifted and carried the boats inland up to 1 kilometer from the sea.
99% of the boats have been destroyed/damaged and fishing has been halted since there are no boats. These boats can't be repaired. 15% of the population has been lost in Nagai district alone. Three generations of fishermen are lost in the sea. The situation of the women and children are unknown since the government is stalling for answers; as a result no projects have been developed for them.
Farmers have lost their land due to salt water contamination of the soil. Along the coastal areas, the farm land is devastated with 2 feet of mud mixed with salt; they have to be dug out. Plant life and mature fruit trees in orchards are dying. It will take years for the land to be revived and usable as farmland.
The government is still negotiating loans for fishermen to buy new boats but as of today they have not reached any agreements, so fishing has not been resumed. Some NGOs are doing good work but there are still problems with duplication and "fancy" projects, good mostly for newspaper headlines. Still today some people are do not have clean water, food and shelter so basic needs have not been met.
I was able to rise close to $4000 dollars from neighbours, friends and family. The generosity and the kindness of the people who came forward to help still overwhelms me. I was able to identify some basic grass roots projects which addressed fishermen, women and children. I was able to purchase and do the
following projects:
5 Tricycles, Transporter carts for fishermen who lost their carts. Carts are important to load fish baskets, vegetable baskets or water tanks and make delivery to local markets. These carts would enable the fishermen who lost their carts to start their own small business and provide for their families. 35 families were interviewed and 5 families were selected.
12 Sewing machines for tsunami widows and young ladies who don't have steady income. Many women are uncertain about their future as their husbands or fathers have been lost at sea. These sewing machines would enable them to start their own small business from their homes and take care of their families.
Text books, Note books and Storage boxes, shelves (for clothing) for 220 orphaned children. There are two orphanages in Nagapattinam. Children were
in great need of books since their books were washed away by the tidal waves. The orphanage also needed storage space since they didn't have storage facilities for the children's clothing.
Uniforms for 250 school children (two small schools in the coastal villages
of Nagai district) who lost their clothing when their belongings were washed
away by the waves.
Nutritional meals including fresh fruits for 1 day for 120 orphaned children
in Nagapattinam.
I would love to share some of these stories and pictures with you soon. There is so much to tell and not enough time to write at this moment.
While I was in India I was able to write articles for CBC on the impact of the tsunami. You can view my articles on the following website.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_swaminathan/
I apologize for not getting this information posted sooner.
I and the people of Nagapattinam would like to thank everyone for making a
big difference in this time of great need. I have never seen such generosity, kindness and the outpouring of love for humanity.
I will be also posting some stories and pictures soon.
What I saw in the media didn't prepare me for the real destruction of the tsunami. Hundreds of boats were littered though out the city streets as well as building compounds and even houses. It was hard to imagine how those boats got there? The tidal waves rose close to 50 feet high. They lifted and carried the boats inland up to 1 kilometer from the sea.
99% of the boats have been destroyed/damaged and fishing has been halted since there are no boats. These boats can't be repaired. 15% of the population has been lost in Nagai district alone. Three generations of fishermen are lost in the sea. The situation of the women and children are unknown since the government is stalling for answers; as a result no projects have been developed for them.
Farmers have lost their land due to salt water contamination of the soil. Along the coastal areas, the farm land is devastated with 2 feet of mud mixed with salt; they have to be dug out. Plant life and mature fruit trees in orchards are dying. It will take years for the land to be revived and usable as farmland.
The government is still negotiating loans for fishermen to buy new boats but as of today they have not reached any agreements, so fishing has not been resumed. Some NGOs are doing good work but there are still problems with duplication and "fancy" projects, good mostly for newspaper headlines. Still today some people are do not have clean water, food and shelter so basic needs have not been met.
I was able to rise close to $4000 dollars from neighbours, friends and family. The generosity and the kindness of the people who came forward to help still overwhelms me. I was able to identify some basic grass roots projects which addressed fishermen, women and children. I was able to purchase and do the
following projects:
5 Tricycles, Transporter carts for fishermen who lost their carts. Carts are important to load fish baskets, vegetable baskets or water tanks and make delivery to local markets. These carts would enable the fishermen who lost their carts to start their own small business and provide for their families. 35 families were interviewed and 5 families were selected.
12 Sewing machines for tsunami widows and young ladies who don't have steady income. Many women are uncertain about their future as their husbands or fathers have been lost at sea. These sewing machines would enable them to start their own small business from their homes and take care of their families.
Text books, Note books and Storage boxes, shelves (for clothing) for 220 orphaned children. There are two orphanages in Nagapattinam. Children were
in great need of books since their books were washed away by the tidal waves. The orphanage also needed storage space since they didn't have storage facilities for the children's clothing.
Uniforms for 250 school children (two small schools in the coastal villages
of Nagai district) who lost their clothing when their belongings were washed
away by the waves.
Nutritional meals including fresh fruits for 1 day for 120 orphaned children
in Nagapattinam.
I would love to share some of these stories and pictures with you soon. There is so much to tell and not enough time to write at this moment.
While I was in India I was able to write articles for CBC on the impact of the tsunami. You can view my articles on the following website.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_swaminathan/
I apologize for not getting this information posted sooner.
I and the people of Nagapattinam would like to thank everyone for making a
big difference in this time of great need. I have never seen such generosity, kindness and the outpouring of love for humanity.
I will be also posting some stories and pictures soon.
posted by Siva Swaminathan at
8:33 AM
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