Disaster
Update
Sudhakar Simeon and Tim Svoboda
7 January 2005
We want to thank those of you who have given to and prayed for the
tsunami disaster relief project here in India. Here is an update. You
can also log on to http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/asiatsunami2004
to see
the latest pictures and updates.
YWAM has been focusing on Kottivakkam which is in Chennai, the Andaman
Islands, and in a city called Colachel, which is located just west of
the southern tip of India. In Colachel the tsunami strongly swept
through this area. Colachel is a natural harbor. On the morning
of December 26th a large ship was in the harbor doing research on its
usability. The local people had never seen such a large ship
close to their
shore before. Many went to the beach to see it.
They were having an enjoyable time. The ship then got word that
the tsunami had hit Chennai and was heading their way, so it headed out
to sea. The citizens of Colachel still did not know this and
watched the ship leave. Then the sea level went down, leaving
live fish and prawns, which many ventured out to recover.
Suddenly a 30-foot wave "rose out of the ocean". Only seconds
after it was spotted, it hit them. Some men quickly climbed up
palm trees and survived. But most, especially the women and
children could not outrun the wave and were killed. The current
official estimate there is 500 dead. But it is likely several
times that, as that figure only includes the bodies that were found,
not those swept out to sea or those who died later in hospitals.
In Kottilpadu (a part of Colachel) where YWAM works, there had been 650
houses. All but 16 were totally wiped out by the tsunami and even
most of those 16 were badly damaged.
Samuel, the YWAM Chennai mercy ministries director, happened to be
there in Colachel with family at the time, and was one of those who
survived. He immediately worked on organizing relief efforts
including the task of picking up and burying the dead bodies.
That alone was an overwhelming task. YWAM quickly formed a team
around him of 14 workers who were involved in many of the greatly
needed initial aid efforts.
Here are a few of the things that YWAM has been involved in the areas
of Chennai, Colachel, and the Andaman Islands. .
- The distribution of 5,000 surgical masks for the
relief workers so they could combat the stench of death as they
uncovered the debris in search of bodies. YWAM was the only group
at some of these locations providing these masks.
- Through the use of an on-site water purifier the YWAM team was able
to provide water for many of the local people and rescue teams.
- YWAM was given charge of a relief camp of 1,000 people.
This team oversees the feeding of these people, coordinating the
renting of large cookware, purchasing and cooking of food... YWAM
provids people with supplies at the camp such as soap, toothpaste,
plates and cups for the 200 or so families.
- Helping meet medical needs
- Sitting with people, listening and helping them to process their
grief.
- Cleaning up the beachfront in Kottivakkam by joining together with 40
people from YWAM, Intermission Industrial Development and Art Lab
Madras.
- Distribution of food. .
- YWAM India also has a team in the Andaman Islands and, along with
helping in various practical ways, they are investigating what YWAM can
do with short and long term relief work.
Amazingly we were able to do most of this with very little expenditure,
as we were able to network with the government in their distribution of
rice, lentils and basic essentials.
The first phase of the operation is now coming to a close. The
government has now closed all these camps and most of the fishermen
have joined together in small groups and rented houses, gone to their
relatives, or moved in temporarily with others. This was done so that
things could return to some kind of normalcy.
The response from the government, churches, religious organizations,
private and public sectors has been overwhelming. This has been a
wonderful outpouring of much needed help. The government has announced
large plans for relief and rehabilitation. However in any relief effort
after a few weeks the interest of many who want to help starts to fade
away. Well-intentioned plans get tangled up in bureaucracy. YWAM is now
planning to move even more into action behind the government and
supplement those that miss the benefits or need special treatment. We
are right now re-accessing needs in both Chennai and Colachel while at
the same time providing relief material to those who continue to
suffer.
We had written to you that we would help with repair of boats, purchase
of fishing nets, taking care of widows and orphans in the second phase
of our plan. We are still evaluating this in light of so many factors.
The government is now looking at what they plan to do in these areas.
Therefore we are awaiting the finalization and implementation of their
plan. We will then watch for any gaps not being met and make sure that
all those needs are provided for in the areas where we are working.
We are already networking with other organizations and looking into the
possibility of the long term care of children who were orphaned and
those that need help in getting back to school.
We are also interested in seeing that the homes of the fishermen are
rebuilt but right now the government is considering how this should be
done. There are concerns that they do not relocate near to the
shoreline and suffer another tsunami. But all this will take some time
to work out since land will have to be acquired and plans drawn up and
properly sanctioned by the government before reconstruction can
start taking place.
Thanks for your help and we will keep you posted as plans start
to unfold.
Sudhakar Simeon and Tim Svoboda
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