On Dec 26, 2004 a Tsunami raced across the ocean, striking the eastern coast of India and shocking thousands of lives. Immediately after the Tsunami, Manav Sadhna acted as a collection centre for Ahmedabad and its surrounding areas. We created relief kits for 1,500 households, which included cooking utensils, rice, grains, lentils, spices, oil, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, saris, lungis and other necessary items for the victims. Each of these kits would allow a family to sustain themselves for two weeks. The kits filled an entire train cabin when sent to Tamil Nadu.
Due to the Tsunami, Perunduraikuppam, a village in Tamil Nadu about two hours south of Chennai, faced a serious blow to their boats and nets, completely upsetting their livelihood. Manav Sadhna sent a team to Tamil Nadu to work with Harijan Sevak Sangh of Tamil Nadu and Rachnatmak Bharati Samaj, both local NGOs, to provide relief to the villagers. Relief work consisted of a seven-day experiment in software relief - connecting with the people, understanding their pain and mobilizing them to work towards community development. This process served as a therapy for alleviating the grief caused by the Tsunami and looking forward to the next phase of life. After the seven days, the local NGOs moved in to provide hardware relief. Manav Sadhna donated two boats and two sets of nets to the village. Additionally, the Share and Care Foundation also supported our initiative by providing more nets and an additional 18 boats for the village. Today the villagers have returned to the ocean and their way of life.
Manav Sadhna plans to remain connected to this village and work towards total development by providing support to the local NGOs, making regular trips to Perunduraikkupam and providing other aid as necessary. |
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