A few weeks ago I had the privilege of being present at a function when catamarans where handed over by our Club to a village affected by Tsunami. AND now I get terrible news of an incident that makes me wonder what is happening to these people affected by the Tsunami.
Imagine all your belongings washed away in front of your eyes and in a matter of minutes and you are helpless. Here is a guy who we thought had gotten over his wife's ailment (she is a heart patient) and also managed to keep a smile on his face even after the Tsunami took away much of his belongings.
Gopi one of the carpenters who made the catamarans for the village of Pudukupam was a young man who seemed happy and willing to help people. It was his hard work and dedicaiton that we were able to get the catamarans completed in a shorter time and it was he who fashioned the replica of a catamran that he presented to Rtn. Tim Johnson of Medford Rogue Rotary Club when he handed over the catamarans to the village and wished them a safe life.
One day Gopi found that he had misplaced his mobile phone and no amount of search could help him find it. He seems to have got into some sort of a depresison about the loss of his phone and.......
something must have snapped in his mind, something that he could not manage, he had lost so much in loife, he has a wife who is suffering from a heart problem and a young child and the stress of it all must have just hit him and lsing his prized possession was something he could not bear.
What did he do?
He hung himself, till he died.
His wife now has to fend for herself and her child and she cannot do any hard work.
I dont know if it was the loss of his mobile phone alone that could have made him do this, but yes it must have been one of the contrubutory factors but I really do think we need to find out wat happened to him. maybe it is too late, but we can and must find out what is happening to these people, in their minds. While they seem OK and seme to be managing their loss, they seem happy for what is being given to them, they seem better, they seem.........
Are they?
Tsunami is no more news and people have forgotten that fateful day after Christmas in 2004. The losses remain and so do the problems.
I am not able to believe that Gopi would have committed suicide just because he lost his mobile. There is a deepr underlying problem and we need to address that.
I think we need to remember, remember that there are still people suffering from the after effects of the Tsunami, remember that what was lost was many generations of savings, remember that it will take many years for people to get back on their feets, remember that there are people who have suffered a great catastrophe, remember that these people need help and more than anything else remember that we need to help them.
You can see a picture of Gopi handing over the replica of a catamaran to Rtn Tim Johnson in this blog.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
Installation of our new President
The new President of the RC of Chennai Kilpauk was installed on 24th June.
Sreevatsa the new President mad a few mportant announcements about the plans of the Club. Here they are as a list
1. Tsunami - a vilage which lost about 28 students to the Tsunami and which is now needing a lot of repairs has been identified. The school is situated near Cuddalore one of the worst hit by the Tsunami. The Club will repair the school and provide the school with a decent building to enable it to commence functioning.
2. Tsunami - TVs and toys and playthings for the Tsunami hit villages was a great hit last year. they played a vital role in bringing back smiles ot the faces of children and many adults and hopefully the Club will have some money to be able to bring more smiles.
3. Helping Hands - The club will arrange for an artificial limb camp which will benefit over 150 disabled people. Artificial limbs and calipers for the polio affected will be distributed. We will also conduct corrective surgeries for the physically handicapped. The club will also distribute at least 70 tricycles for the disabled. this project is a matching grant project made possible with the help of RC fo Strathcona Sunrise of Canada.
4. Ignite - The club will meet the financial needs of about 40 students who come from poor families.
The function was attended by over 100 visiting Rotarians from the District and the district was well represented by its officers and PDGs. The Chief Guest of the evening was DG Elect Dr. Shyamsundar.
Sreevatsa the new President mad a few mportant announcements about the plans of the Club. Here they are as a list
1. Tsunami - a vilage which lost about 28 students to the Tsunami and which is now needing a lot of repairs has been identified. The school is situated near Cuddalore one of the worst hit by the Tsunami. The Club will repair the school and provide the school with a decent building to enable it to commence functioning.
2. Tsunami - TVs and toys and playthings for the Tsunami hit villages was a great hit last year. they played a vital role in bringing back smiles ot the faces of children and many adults and hopefully the Club will have some money to be able to bring more smiles.
3. Helping Hands - The club will arrange for an artificial limb camp which will benefit over 150 disabled people. Artificial limbs and calipers for the polio affected will be distributed. We will also conduct corrective surgeries for the physically handicapped. The club will also distribute at least 70 tricycles for the disabled. this project is a matching grant project made possible with the help of RC fo Strathcona Sunrise of Canada.
4. Ignite - The club will meet the financial needs of about 40 students who come from poor families.
The function was attended by over 100 visiting Rotarians from the District and the district was well represented by its officers and PDGs. The Chief Guest of the evening was DG Elect Dr. Shyamsundar.
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