We set out again on the 15th of August, on the day of India's Independance. We went out to try and bring smiles into the faces of people who have been affected by the Tsunami 8 months ago and to understand their current needs and see how we can help them.
The objective was to visit 4 villages and give them a 29 inch TV each and a collection of sports equipment. Cricket kits, Volleyballs, nets, footballs, carrom boards, chess board and men and so on.
Every village we visited had been affected by the Tsunami and its residents were before the Tsunami living in reasonable comfort. They were not in poverty and now due to an act of nature theye have lost much of their assets and have to look forward to hlp from others to get started again in their lives.
We had also planned to visit the village where we had given Catamarans and nets to get them started. AND a surprise was awaiting us. The villagers had shown the local Govt. official what they were able to achieve with the help of Rotary and had negotiated for permanent housing quarters for the village. We were witness to the hectic constructin activity taking place at the village and found the TV (Chip Ross) we had given was out in the open and people were enjoying themselves. However the fishermen were out at sea, there was no holiday for them independance day or not. No work no food, no rest even for a single day is possible.
The villages , Nadukuppam, Kottakuppam, kandanchavadi and Sodanai Chavandi was where we distributed the TVs and sports equipment. Every village wanted help in getting back to work and it was evident that only those villages that had marketed themselves were able to get relief.
It was in the village Kottakuppam, where I had the chance to meet the widow of Carpenter Gopi. You can scroll down and read the story of Gopi who committed suicide. His widow was living with Gopi's mother and the two women were found to be in bad shae emotionally and financially. Gopi's child had been taken by a French (?) couple and now they were asking his widow for Rs 20000 so they can take the child to France with them. we advised her to first enquire thoroughly before she sent her child with these people.
In the village where we saw her (Kottukuppam) we also visited the primary school (there is no secondary school here) where they had set aside a small room for computers. The digital divide here is very wide and we hope that by providing a few computers and some furniture we will be able to make a difference to the three villages which rely on this village for education.
The village headman showed great enthusiasm and told us that a priest from a nearby school has agreed to send teachers for teaching computers to the children in and around the village.
All in all a great day out, much was accomplished and with help from Eugene Bail who made this day out possible, we were able to bring smiles to 4 villages and this totalling to 2000 people and more.
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