UPDATE FROM LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF (LWR) PARTNER, UNITED EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCHES IN INDIA (UELCI), ON POST-TSUNAMI WORK IN INDIA
Baltimore, March 3, 2005—The following Information comes from the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI)—an Action by Churches Together (ACT)* member and a partner of both Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Within 15 hours after the South Asia tsunami hit, longtime LWR and ELCA partner, UELCI, had begun work in the areas affected by the tsunami. The UELCI is one of the many groups that has received funding through LWR’s WAVE OF GIVING™ effort. LWR’s former Asia Director, Gene Thiemann, has been dispatched to India to assist UELCI with planning, coordination and transitioning to long-term recovery efforts.
The following information is an update on UELCI’s work in India:
Cuddalore
People dependent on selling and cleaning fish, who are now unemployed, have approached UELCI for assistance. UELCI identified nearly 125 women whose livelihoods have been affected and who belong to the fishing and Dalit communities and provided relief to them on February 17 in consultation with the district collector (local government official) and other authorities.
Guntur
At the request of the local Lutheran church and a local government officer of Nizampatnam, UELCI carried out an extensive survey and identified 351 additional families - including fisherfolk, minorities, Muslims, Christians, and Dalits - who need assistance. Women in this village are involved in preparing feed for poultry farms from waste material that is a byproduct of fishing. Hence, these families were also depended on the fishing community and are identified as being affected by the tsunami. Assorted food will be distributed to these families in a few days.
Kancheepuram
Communities are accepting support from UELCI in all aspects. Collective planning and decision making is taking place concerning ownership of boats, nets and motors. Communities are now analyzing the government's policy on housing and are closely observing the developments of these policies. UELCI staff are actively involved in community development program and coordinating between communities and the government. UELCI attended a meeting with the district collector and discussed such matters as permanent housing and insurance for the boats.
Kanya Kumari/Trivandrum
UELCI has undertaken relief distributions at eight places in Trivandrum which are under the IELC Trivandrum Synod in response to requests from local communities and church leaders. The church leaders and the youth from the IELC Trivandrum Synod participated as volunteers in UELCI's survey program and helped distribute family cards and material goods. This distribution in Trivandrum went to 227 families.
Nagapattinam
A special focus in Nagapattinam is on youth and students. This emphasis is in response to requests from a number of organizations and youth groups. During this critical stage of facing many decisions in their young lives, help is desired to guide, support and encourage them to see new options for their future lives and careers. The tsunami has disrupted the lives of many youth, both economically and emotionally. UELCI is working to identify the affected youth and provide appropriate support.
Tranquebar
The Dalit families at Chandrapadi have moved into their new, temporary shelters which were built by UELCI. These temporary homes have given many families the sense of being cared for and sheltered beyond the physical sense. Still, flooring in these shelters is required, and the work is underway. The Dalit community has been highly appreciative of the efforts of UELCI. Play kits, given to the children by the UELCI in Chandrapadi village, are put to maximum use.
Psychosocial work
Work with children
Children are among the most affected tsunami survivors, both emotionally and physically. They are often found sitting at the seashore, gazing blankly at each other, not knowing what to do. As someone observed, "They forget to smile; they forget to play." A UELCI team reported that when schools in the Nagapattinam area resumed after the Christmas holidays and the disaster, the children were silent, deep in shock, listless, and easily broke into tears.
UELCI, with the support of National Lutheran Health and Medical Board (NLHMB) teams, is working in the villages near Cuddalore to get the children back to normality. NLHMB has trained more than 500 volunteers as community counselors to work with people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress. The volunteers visit the villages daily, interacting with the children to help them work through emotional issues. They have also organized several children's camps to help provide a safe place to talk about their feelings.
In Cuddalore and Tranquebar UELCI is very much focused on relief work in the Dalit villages. There, UELCI again identified children as a major group of survivors facing unique challenges after the tsunami. In part, play therapy is effective. So UELCI has established two children's parks along with game equipment for pre-school and school-aged children. The park is strategically located near their school. The children come to play in the parks, find their friends and make new ones, and then share their experiences with each other. This approach has proven to be a good beginning for UELCI in its efforts to bring children together in that village. Furthermore, UELCI has also provided play kits to the children. They have started playing games, and slowly the liveliness is coming back in the village that has not been seen since the tsunami struck. The local coordinator reports that attendance at the school has remarkably increased.
Handbook published
A "Handbook for Community Counselor Trainers on Disaster Psycho-Social Response" was published by the Academy for Disaster Management Education Planning and Training. The National Lutheran Medical Health Board participated with other NGOs, community counselors and other medical teams to develop this handbook. This handbook, along with training, will go a long way toward addressing some of the important aspects of emotional recovery. See www.disaster-management.info for more information, including a training manual for psycho-social response.
Self-help groups
The women of Palaya Nadukuppam, Kancheepuram; Chandrapadi, Tranquebar and Chitra Pattei, Cuddalore have organized themselves into self-help groups with the assistance of the staff team of Slum Women's Advancement Programme and UELCI in Chennai.
The team is currently conducting a five-day entrepreneur-development training program. This will be extended to other UELCI operational villages.
Medical assistance
The National Lutheran Health and Medical Board reported that 8,500 patients were attended to and 119 patients were admitted at the base camp. In the School Children Nutrition Programme, five schools have been covered. Health screening of all children was done, and nutritional supplements in the form of enriched vitamins, minerals and protein mix were provided to 1,061 children. A total of 86 cans of nutritional supplements were utilized. About 50 patients were identified by government agencies in the Nagapattinam region. They require surgical treatment to correct disabilities caused or aggravated by the tsunami. Surgical facilities were established at the base camp in cooperation with Krishna Hospital, a private hospital in Cuddalore. Thirty orthopedic patients were treated, some of whom underwent complicated surgeries.
*LWR is a member of ACT, Action by Churches Together International, a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.
For more information contact Emily Sollie at esollie@lwr.org or 410-230-2802.
