India - Tsunami Relief Volunteering

While in Sikkim, we decided to cancel our trip to Thailand and spend some time down in Tamil Nadu to help out if possible. We did some Internet research and came up with the names of a few NGOs that were based in Chennai that were in need of volunteers. So we packed a bag, hopped on a plane and headed down to Chennai. 

We showed up at AID India after having spoken to a volunteer coordinator on the phone. The office was a hive of activity, with computers and phones humming, piles of rice bags, buckets, clothing items and papers and tons of  people all in the midst of various coordination activties. 

We found out that a truck was leaving for Pondicherry later that afternoon and that we could catch a ride with it.   We showed up at the godown (warehouse) a few hours later to help load up the truck.  The room was filled with boxes and boxes of donated items: women's and men's clothes, food items, medicines, notebooks, pens, etc.  When talking to some of the volunteers (one who turned out to be from San Jose), we found that while people had donated a lot of items, not all of them were needed, or even wanted.  For example, we were desperately trying to find women's undergarments, but couldn't find any- but there were surpluses of salwar kameezes and saris and other items that might not be needed by the time it got down to villages in need (Note: we later read an article showing a villager that had been 'overwhelmed' in aid...she was surrounded by a big bag of rice, given a new stove (she already had one), and given clothes (which she did not want). It's quite illuminating to see what happens on the collection and receiving end of donations.) 

We finally got all sorted out and got on the truck to Pondicherry, which was about a 4 hour ride.  After a bumpy 5 hours, we reached Pondicherry and were told to go down to Nagiputtnam, a large town on the east coast.  Quite frustrating to get bumped from town to town without any foreknowledge! Although we didn't see it from the bus, from talking to people, we heard stories of total devastation of villages, some which hadn't been reached by aid or government yet. 

Because of the long distance and because it was now 2am in the morning, we stopped in Karaikal and somehow found a place to stay.  The next day, we made it to Nagiputtam. There, we were again sent on to Vedaranyam with a doctor that had come down from Delhi. Vedaranyam was to be our staging area from which we would take  a bus out to Pushpavanam, a coastal village about 45 minutes away that had a mix of fisherfolk, agricultural workers, and daily wage laborers.

We met up with about  other volunteers that had come from all over: Mumbai, Delhi, England, and some local folks from Chennai and Verdanyam. This was critical, because none of us spoke Tamil! 

We went to Pushpavanam with the intention of conducting a household survey that AID staffers had developed that would assess the long term needs of the villagers (that couse in grad school did come in useful)  Of course, this being real-life and not a class, it was a little more difficult than we thought.

First of all, mostly everyone in the village had been affected in some way: loss of boats (some had lost fiberglass boats, engines and catamarans), loss of children or parents.  It was the hardest to talk to this particular group of  people. I often felt helpless: first the language barrier and then because I felt that if I were asking these questions then I was raising their expectations that this survey would be the direct link to getting compensation SOON.   I had to remind myself that we were there to look at long-term needs and that many groups were trying to help. And, that results of this survey would make its way to those people in government that would figure out compensation.   Many of the villagers invited us into their homes to  show us how high on the outer walls the water had reached  or inside the house where the mud and slime had come in. One woman showed us the empty almirah which had been filled with dozens and dozens of saris that her faily had been gathering for her upcoming wedding; all of of the saris were swept away by the wave.  Still others were in states of  shock. We sat down and talked with some of the women as to what they were experiencing, and some told us very candidly that they were still scared to go to sleep and they wondered what was going to happen to them.   They had  gotten back to work because they had to, but some noted that their husbands did nothing because they had no work, since their boats had been destroyed - each boat/engine/net  combination costs about Rs. 1.5 lakh (Rs 150,000 or USD3500). Indeed, many of the men were gathered around in the village square watching all the activity.

The front row of huts and houses nearer the shore had been washed away, leaving tons of debris and mud.  The beach area was full of mud, in addition to piles of dead fish, all smelling quite bad.  The only things that seemed to have withstood the tsunami seems to have been the trees and the religious structures.  In fact, we even heard a story on the TV that in Aceh (Indonesia), only the mosques remained standing... Perhaps some divine intervention?

Some of the guys in our group (Faisal!) talked with them and got them involved in a card game and even climbing trees. Soon, different men were hitching up their lungis and scrambling up the cocunut trees and gathering 5-6 and dropping it down for all of us to share. It might  not have solved the long-term problems, but it brought a smile to some of these men's faces. In general, most people seemed happy that people had come to volunteer and thanked us for being there.    On the other hand, there were some people who wanted us to give them money.

We also met other NGOs like ActionAid and Sneha that were working in the same village and learned what work they were doing. Every so often a government offical would rumble in in his pristine white lungi and car surrounded by bodyguards. They would all get out, take pictures, and zoom off again.  Off course, none of them did any manual or counseling work!   Our attempts at interaction with the governmental authorities (such as the local medical dispensary or the police) were only marginally successful - they gave us bits and pieces of information - we had to really be persistent about getting things like maps and other survey information.  One rumor we heard was that they were focused on trying to prevent any news of the cholera outbreaks from spreading to the media as this would be an embarrasment to the local political authorities.

We also spent time playing and interacting with the kids, trying to build trust.  With kids, even if there is a language barrier, this isn't so hard to do.  Within two days, they were running after us, calling "Akka" (older sister) or "Anna" (older brother).  They broke out into peals of laughter at our (ok, my) poor attempt at speaking Tamil.  Many of them seemed physically and mentally ok, but I'm sure we weren't seeing the entire picture.

We spent a bunch of time in Vedaranyam town itself in the evenings.  It is quite a bustling little town with lots of shops.  We went to a bunch of dosa/idly restaurants and got used to the fantastic prices (Rs. 10 or USD 0.20) for a full meal served on a banana leaf!  In fact, our mineral water cost more than that (Rs. 12) as did any ice-cream (Rs. 20 to Rs. 35). 

As we left later in the week, we knew that some Tamil speakers were slated to come in and take over where we started with the survey. I really hope that the powers that be, including coordinating groups of NGOs and govrenemnt bodies really try their best to take all of the gathered informaiton and use it to issue death ceritifcates, give the villagers compensation for their boats, provide counseling and rehabilitation if needed.  Quite understandably, the NGOs are quite disorganized in the wake of this tragedy... they're slowly getting their act together though.

I'll not easily forget this experience. It makes me thankful for what I do have.

If you are interested in volunteering, check out AID India and Bhoomika Trust!

-Smruti

Comments

[Carl B Corman]

I am trying to find out how to volunteer my time and skills in the tsunami relief effort.

[Koki and Mahendra]

Dear Smruti, Dev

I am sending copy of Your Tsunami Relief blog
[ Factual and very touching coverage with realistic pictures of needs, wants and wonderful people trying to hold together. ]
to Jain Center for sharing at Tsunami Releif charity program on Feb. 19th Saturday.

I had mentioned about your work last Sunday at Jain Center Tsunami Relief Program meeting. [ Hasubhai; President, Heena Nandu, VP PR and Tsunami Relief Program Chair.] Hasubhai requested I send them blog copy. [Harshad Uncle had already given that to Hasubhai]

On 19th Jain Center has Musical Evening Charity program. It is going to be a packed house. I hope you will not mind if they use some of the pictures and stories as part of the presentation.

Mom and Dad.

[shachi Shah]

Hi Guys

It was very nice seeing you in India. We are very proud of you for helping out Tsunami victims during your vacation. Very few people would sacrifice their peronal time and comfort to help people in need. Hats off to you two ! We are sure you would have made a difference in the lives of people whom you helped.

Waiting to see you and hear your stories in person. Have a great time in Southern hemisphere. We heard that you two are going to Machu Pichu in Peru. Viren is reading a book about civilztaions that flourished there thousnads of year ago - it is very fascinating. Take care

Shachi, Viren