December 26th, 2004 changed the map of areas located in and around Indian Ocean.  A little mischief of nature, called TSUNAMI played havoc on thousands of people.  It was a shock to see people being carried away into the sea with the gigantic waves destroying everything that came in its way.  Though people were taken aback for a moment, government and various non-government organizations swung into action and started relief work.



I also happened to visit Nagapattinam for relief work along with an NGO from Bangalore.  We reached Nagapattinam at around 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday, January 5th.  Our destination was a small village called Akkarapette , close to Nagapattinam town.  The place was deserted at this time of the morning, and it was horrifying to see boats on the road, broken houses everywhere and the roar of the ocean in the background.  The place looked like a battlefield.  In the morning, the area was full of activities, with various restoration works taking place.  The Army is playing an important role in the region and restoring bridges, roads etc.



We learned that there is an NGO co-ordination center ( http://www.tsunami2004-india.org )setup at the Collector’s office to co-ordinate the various types of help pouring in.  Any NGO can go and register with this co-ordination center and the center will then assign various villages based on the NGO's area of interest.  There are daily meetings happening, and they have already identified the following areas that need involvement from NGOs.

- Rehabilitation

- Community Kitchen

- Medical AID, Health and Sanitation

- Relief

- Disposal of dead bodies

- Rehabilitation of children ( Especially Orphans)

- Housing

- Volunteers

- Miscellaneous

The list of NGOs working on each of these areas is available with NGO co-ordination center.



After leaving the NGO co-ordination center on the first day, we visited a relief camp  to counsel and play with the children.  This was suggested as a good way to spend a few hours, since the psychological needs of children are often overlooked in the rush to provide immediate food, aid, and shelter.  The children were overjoyed to have visitors who could help them take their minds off of the disaster they had just experienced.



The second day, we surveyed  several remote villages to determine their need for supplies, shelter, etc.  It seemed that most villages were well off in the basic supplies, but needed tools and most substantial aid in rebuilding their boats and houses.  One problem seen was the lack of aid received by certain castes that were isolated by the other villages.



The third day, we assisted the villagers of one smaller  village in clearing and cleaning several of the relatively intact houses.  We cleared thorn bushes, trees, mud, and helped cleanse a previously unusable house so that a family might be able to stay there.  There was a division within the village, with some villagers choosing to help with the cleanup effort, while other chose to not become involved.



I was told that there was no coordinated relief effort for the first few days after the disaster.  The South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) and SNEHA set up the co-ordination center at the Nagapattinam collectorate after this.  This center looks after the daily needs in various camps and villages in addition to coordinating long term relief activities with various NGOs.  They have volunteers working at each of the rehabilitation camps and villages who track the daily requirements of the camps and villages.  Volunteers at the co-ordination center compile this list and deliver the supplies by the next morning.  Individuals who are interested in donating in any form can contact the center and find out their requirements.  We also see large number of supplies in terms of food grains, cloths, utensils, medicines etc. pouring into the affected areas from various part of the country.  Actually, the supplies coming in are much more than what is required.  It is advised that people talk to the center before dispatching any supplies.  It will be a good idea to setup a co-ordination center at nearby cities from where help is coming.  We should have centers at big cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bombay, Pune, Delhi which will in tern work with co-ordination centers at Cuddalor, Nagapattinam etc. It will be good if media can take up this initiative.  It will also help us in directing help to needy places in future also.



We also felt involvement from villagers should be sought before helping them with supplies.  NGOs or groups should make sure villagers clean up their surroundings; help the volunteers with daily work etc.  This will help them in recovering from the disaster and look forward for their livelihood.  We found that, at least in some places villagers are expecting supplies and help to come to them.



Though we can't repair the damages caused by TSUNAMI in various part of the world, it is overwhelming to see that people are extending their helping hand to the people in distress.  It will take months before life becomes normal for these people. Let us remember our friends whom we lost to the fury of sea in our prayers and hope nature won't cause another tragedy to occur for quite some time.



References:

• TSUNAMI relief work web site: http://www.tsunami2004-india.org
• Contact number at NGO co-ordination center, Nagapattinam: 04365 252800
• Deputy Director of Health services (Nagapattinam): 04365 293323
• Collector’s office in Nagapattinam: 04365 251882

Photographs: 

• Jaimon's TSUNAMI Photos
• Cory's TSUNAMI Photos