TSUNAMI RELIEF WORK

On December 26 at 12.30 pm Kollam District on the west coast of India had an unwelcome guest. When he left half an hour later the place resembled a war ravaged area with 142 dead, almost 2000 houses wiped out, 5000 damaged, several boats and canoes torn asunder. Alappad Panchayat near Karunagapally was the worst hit with 139 dead here alone. At Sakthikulangara 8 kms away from the Kollam city St. John Britto colony was completely devastated with 36 houses completely damaged and 13 partly.

The ten meter high Tsunami caught the fisher folk unaware when most of them were engaged in routine activities. As the killer wave swept the shore many could only helplessly watch their relatives and neighbors being washed away. Days after the disaster, survivors have mass cremated the dead and were seen searching for their possessions beneath the rubble and in the backwaters.

TMS carried out the emergency relief operations together with the State, NGOs and other voluntary organizations. A special meeting was held at Mavelikara on 30th December 2004, and formed a forum with Dynamic action, Students Christian Movement, FCDP, TMS, Mochaka Jeevaka Munnettam, ICGF, Bible College-Thiruvalla and Nireeksha-Trivandrum in order to take stock of the relief operations done so far and to find out and take action on the needs of the survivors housed in different emergency camps all over the State.

Later the forum functioned as a pressure group in the process of the relief measures taken by the State Government.


• To help create the situation for the continuation of education of the children in the Tsunami affected areas.


• To provide counselling and medical help if necessary for people psychologically affected by the disaster.


• To provide fishing equipments for the affected people in the coastal areas engaged in fishing.


• To identify the special needs of women and to provide the required materials or to help create conditions for their accomplishment.


• To conduct a comprehensive survey to find out the cause and effect of Tsunami in Kerala coast.


• To form an advisory board and a core group for the implementation of the above decisions.

Many activities were done by the group in many of the 38 relief camps all over the State, which had about 35,000 people.


• By a concerted effort of counselling, especially directed towards women and children, it was able to reduce the fear in the minds of a large number of people in these camps.


• A strong group of volunteers were mobilized to take up cleaning activities in the camp.


• The group succeeded in providing the particular material needs of women.


• TMS and FCDP distributed text books to 32 students from 1st to 10th standard in St. John Britto colony Sakthikulangara.


• TMS and FCDP distributed 5 kg. of rice each to its 254 FMC (Fish Marketing Centre) members. TMS distributed food kits worth Rs.300.00 to 2400 members on 15-01-2005.