ACT News Update

India 0105

Fishing village in India celebrates with new boats

Geneva, April 15, 2005—It’s back to work in India. Twenty boats, along with motors and nets, which were handed over recently to the fishing village of Chitirapettai near Cuddalore in the state of Tamilnadu, will enable some eager fishermen to return to sea.

The boats were given to the village by the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), which is carrying out rehabilitation projects in response to the tsunami. UELCI is a member of the global alliance of churches Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.

Helping fishermen in villages along the coast in southern India return to sea has been a major part of UELCI’s effort to restore normalcy to the lives of people affected by the December 26 tsunami.

“We were anticipating this day!” exclaimed one fisherman. “It’s a great feeling to go back to fishing after such a long time. The water was quiet, and I was able to catch some fish,” he added.

UELCI’s tsunami response, as well as the responses of the other two ACT members working in India – Lutheran World Service India and Churches Auxiliary for Social Action – have received overwhelming support from ACT members around the world. “Without the sharing help of this group of partners, these fish would still be swimming,” said UELCI’s executive secretary, Chandran Paul Martin, as he noticed some of the fish being shared with a small boy.

It is not only the men who fish who are being assisted. The fiberglass boats were actually handed over to women in the village to clearly show that they are equal partners in fishing businesses. Women clean the fish, sell them at the market and help keep the nets clean.

“These gifts, called livelihood kits, will bring liveliness to nearly 500 villagers,” said one UELCI staff member. Each kit – a boat and equipment – is intended to be owned and managed cooperatively by a group of ten families. He explained that while some villagers would use the boats and equipment, others would benefit from the catch through related jobs - jobs that will be revived when the fishing resumes.

Local government leaders joined a gathering of UELCI church officials for a celebration when the boats were handed over, and all pledged continued support for the village. Children joined in the celebration as well. Some, dressed in traditional costumes, performed dances, while others showed their excitement by jumping from boat to boat.

The UELCI is assisting 59 coastal villages hit by the tsunami. After assisting in the relief phase of the response in the first weeks following the tsunami, UELCI’s projects of building permanent houses and shelters and involving communities in micro-credit programs are getting underway.