DanChurchAid
India
Tsunami: Sailing back to life
Velmurugam was a boat owner and tried to save his boat and engine. In the process, he got seriously injured.
Boat and engine were destroyed in the Tsunami and Velmurugam was badly hurt
His brother saved him somehow but Velmurugam was so badly hurt and had drunk so much water that he had to be kept in the hospital for 10 days. His wife and two children were in the house and could escape to the main road. They stayed in another village for three days, after that in a friend’s house for one month, where he joined them. They are now living in a temporary shelter till they get permanent housing.
LWSI provided relief kits
Having lost all their belongings to the Tsunami, the relief and livelihood support they received from Lutheran World Service - India helped to pull them out of the morass of their lives. While LWSI relief kits comprising garments, utensils, sanitation items and students’ kit assisted them in setting up home and starting life again, the livelihood kit comprising boat, engine, nets and other fishing accessories, like rope, leads and floats, enabled Velmurugam to resume fishing and earn his living again.
Each LWSI boat is given to five fisher families who form a Self Help Group. They have all gone back to the sea. Velmurugam was earning Rs 2,000 per month in July-August this year, after getting our livelihood kit. This being the lean season, fishing has gone down somewhat, but he is still managing to earn Rs 50-100 a day. Velmurugam’s wife, Kavita, is an active SHG member.
By Rina Chunder, Information/Documentation Officer, Lutheran World Service - India
India
