YWAM India Disaster Relief - Updates

We want to thank those of you who have given to and prayed for the tsunami disaster relief project here in India. Here is an update. You can also log on to https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/asiatsunami2004 to see the latest pictures and updates.

YWAM has been focusing on Kottivakkam which is in Chennai, the Andaman Islands, and on a city called Colachel, which is located just west of the southern tip of India. In Colachel the tsunami strongly swept through this area. Colachel is a natural harbor. On the morning of December 26th a large ship was in the harbor doing research on its usability. The local people had never seen such a large ship close to their shore before. Many went to the beach to see it.

They were having an enjoyable time. The ship then got word that the tsunami had hit Chennai and was heading their way, so it headed out to sea. The citizens of Colachel still did not know this and watched the ship leave. Then the sea level went down, leaving live fish and prawns, which many ventured out to recover.

Suddenly a 30-foot wave rose out of the ocean. Only seconds after it was spotted, it hit them. Some men quickly climbed up palm trees and survived. But most, especially the women and children could not outrun the wave and were killed.

The current official estimate there is 500 dead. But that only includes the bodies that were found, not those swept out to sea or those who died later in hospitals. In Kottilpadu (a part of Colachel) where YWAM worked, there had been 650 houses. All but 16 were totally wiped out by the tsunami and even most of those 16 were badly damaged.

Samuel, the YWAM Chennai mercy ministries director, happened to be there in Colachel with family at the time. He immediately worked on organizing relief efforts including the task of picking up and burying the dead bodies. That alone was an overwhelming task. YWAM quickly formed a team around him of 14 workers who were involved in many of the greatly needed initial aid efforts.

Here are a few of the things that YWAM has been involved in the areas of Chennai, Colachel, and the Andaman Islands.

- The distribution of 5,000 surgical masks for the relief workers so they could combat the stench of death as they uncovered the debris in search of bodies. YWAM was the only group there providing these masks.

- Through the use of an on-site water purifier the YWAM team was able to provide water for many of the local people and rescue teams.

- YWAM was given charge of a relief camp of 1,000 people. They oversaw the feeding of these people, coordinating the renting of large cookware, purchasing and cooking of food. YWAM provided people with supplies at the camp such as soap, toothpaste, plates and cups for the 200 families.

- Helping meet medical needs

- Sitting with people and helping them to process their grief.

- Cleaning up the beachfront in Kottivakkam by joining together with 40 people from YWAM, Intermission Industrial Development and Art Lab Madras.

- Distribution of food.

- YWAM India also has a team in the Andaman Islands and are investigating there what YWAM can do with short and long term relief work.

Amazingly we were able to do most of this with very little expenditure, as we were able to network with the government in their distribution of rice, lentils and basic essentials.

The first phase of the operation is now coming to a close. The government has now closed all these camps and most of the fishermen have joined together in small groups and rented houses, gone to their relatives, or moved in temporarily with others. This was done so that things could return to some kind of normalcy.

The response from the government, churches, religious organizations, private and public sectors has been overwhelming. This has been a wonderful out pouring of much needed help. The government has announced large plans for relief and rehabilitation. However in any relief effort after a few weeks the interest of many who want to help starts to fade away. Well-intentioned plans get tangled up in bureaucracy.

YWAM is now planning to move into action moving behind the government and supplementing those that miss the benefits or need special treatment. We are right now re-assessing needs in both Chennai and Colachel while at the same time providing relief material to those who continue to suffer.

We had written to you that we would help with repair of boats, purchase of fishing nets, taking care of widows and orphans in the second phase of our plan. We are still considering this. The government is now looking at what they plan to do in these areas. Therefore we are awaiting the finalization and implementation of their plan. We will then watch for any gaps not being met and make sure that all those needs are provided for in the areas where we are working.

We are already networking with other organizations and looking into the possibility of the long term care of children who were orphaned and those that need help in getting back to school.

We are also interested in seeing that the homes of the fishermen are rebuilt but right now the government is considering how this should be done. There are concerns that they do not relocate near to the shoreline and suffer another tsunami. But all this will take some time to work out since land will have to be acquired and plans drawn up and properly sanctioned by the government before reconstruction can start taking place.

Thanks for your help and we will keep you posted as plans start to unfold.

Sudhakar Simeon and Tim Svoboda

According to the government's estimation there are more than 1,00,000 people homeless in Colachel taking refuge in 59 camps. Our team has identified one such relief camp in Karungal with about 1,000 people. The thousand people in this camp are from 4 villages; Thotil Padu, Simon Colony, Colachel and Kurunpanai. Karungal is about 6 kms inland from colachel. The people who were running the camp have exhausted their resources to run the camp by themselves and have given handed over the camp to us.

We have to house, feed and provide medical support for this camp till they are shifted back to their villages. Right now there are about 17 ywamers on site and they have networked themselves with the government, the township president and the catholic church. Most fishermen of Kanyakumari district are Roman Catholics.

Our team is also collecting data from all the residents of the camp right now in order to find out missing people, reuniting families, tracking the number of dead in the families, applying for death certificates with the government, as these would be essential to receive relief money from the government.

We foresee that we will have to run this camp for atleast a month. However this situation can change any moment. Our leaders who are overseeing the camp have decided that they will not focus on having large numbers in the camp but quality.

Nobody was warned of any upcoming disaster and proceeded with Sunday morning, December 26th, in the usual manner. But when the tsunami hit, lives of people all across South and Southeast Asia were changed dramatically.

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, fishing villages are among the worst damaged. With boats and huts wrecked, people’s loved ones and livelihoods were stolen from them. The fishing town of Colachel is among the worst hit with more than 4000 dead with more expected to come. Huts situated along Colachel’s coast have been flattened.

The Indian Express newspaper notes that Colachel (near the southern tip of India) has been the worst hit by the Tsunami wave. There are more than 7000 families who are now homeless. As the debris is cleared and the ocean waters recede, more bodies are expected to be discovered. In Nagapattinam (south of Chennai), the stench of decomposing bodies lingers heavily in the air. It has been reported that the progress of relief and rescue efforts are moving at a snail’s pace.

The tsunami has rendered many people homeless, taken away their livelihoods, and left many with no hope for the future. When the tsunami becomes a memory for the rest of the world, the people of Colachel, Nagapattinam, and other coastal villages will struggle to move forward with their lives.

This tragic story stretches all along the coastal towns of Tamil Nadu right into the city of Chennai The numbers continue to rise. Although much work has already been put into action, much still remains to be done.

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is already moving quickly into action. One of the fisherman’s village in Chennai that we have a permanent ministry in (Kottivakkam) got hit by the tsunami. In Colachel, another fishing town down south, one of our workers who leads our slum ministry was home for Christmas holidays. He is now deeply involved in relief work on the coast.

We are sending teams and our staff into these troubled areas. Already they are moving into action as you get this email. WE NEED YOUR HELP. The immediate need RIGHT NOW is US $60,400. See the financial needs link for more information on the needs and how you can help.