Dateline ACT

India 01/07

By Rina Chunder, ACT International

Kodankudi village in Nagapattinam district is one of many hamlets that dot India’s Tamil Nadu state — a small village situated in a low-lying flood-prone zone near the ocean and rivers. Every year during the monsoon, people's small homes, made from mud, are flooded and damaged, forcing them to take shelter for sometimes up to two weeks on higher ground. Their refuge is usually a school about three kilometers from home.

Kodankudi is home to 48 dalit (or "scheduled caste") families—people who are relegated to the edges of society, largely impoverished, with poor prospects.

"We are here because we don’t have any work. We just idle away our time till we get work again during harvest," M. Nedesan says when asked why the men in the village are not working.

The tsunami of December 26, 2004 left its greatest impact on rural coastal communities in some parts of southern India. The communities were already poor and vulnerable with very few livelihood options. As the tsunami was a disaster related to the ocean, the coastal fishing communities were the ones the government as well as many humanitarian agencies focussed on in the immediate aftermath of the emergency. But two years later, the exclusion of coastal communities that do not earn a living from the sea from many relief and rehabilitation policies, are cause for concern.

While these communities may have suffered fewer physical losses, in many cases they have experienced irredeemable losses by way of their existing sources of livelihood. Post-tsunami rapid impact assessments showed that for every ocean-fishing community, there were at least two non-ocean-fishing communities deprived of support.

Lutheran World Service India (LWSI) of the Lutheran World Federation, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, is now working with the community of Kodankudi and has initiated a livelihood-support and community-based disaster preparedness program (CBDP) here and in some 49 other tsunami-affected non-ocean-fishing and dalit communities in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu. These programs are supported by Danish ACT member DanChurchAid.

The men from Kondankudi are landless agricultural labourers who usually manage to work about two months a year, while the women, who help with the planting of the crops, get to work for approximately 45 days a year. Even in wages, discrimination is practiced — men earn Rs 90 ($2) a day, while women’s wages are set at Rs 40 (less than $1) a day. The women are too afraid to protest this form of discrimination, as they are frightened that they will be denied even the little work they get at the moment.

To make ends meet, the families borrow money from moneylenders at very high rates. And many young people are seeking work elsewhere, such as in the neighbouring state of Kerala, working in road construction.

Eruvakkollai village in Nagapattinam district, home to 81 dalit families, is situated in an area where three rivers intersect. There are no roads, no health centre or school in the area. Their only access to the outside world — to the next village, to school and the hospital — is by way of a rickety bamboo bridge, which is submerged and at times even broken during floods. Last year, a pregnant woman died when she could not be taken to the hospital. The bridge had collapsed under the weight of the floodwater.

Every year there is a flood and every year the villagers seek refuge in a cyclone shelter 5 km away, spending up to Rs 10 000 to Rs15 000 ($ 222 –333) on repairs for their homes.

Thullanmedu village in Cuddalore district is so remote and low-lying that during floods, government surveys are done by helicopter, as there is no land or boat access to reach the remote hamlet. The nearest government primary health centre is 10 km away and there is only a traditional birth attendant in the village, believed to be 100 years old.

During initial meetings with the community, LWSI staff found younger people very interested in the CBDP program. One of the villagers, Murali, said, "It would be very useful to us to be given skills training in first aid."

Similarly, in Thalanchavadi village in Cuddalore district, M Leela, who had to stop going to school because of a lack of money said, "We don’t want anything. Just develop our capacity. We will build our village."

Many young people who have some ten to twelve years’ education also agreed that training would go a long way in helping them break the cycle of poverty and lack of opportunities. Robert, a class 12 student, was interested in computer training, but could not afford it. Shalini Prema, who had completed class 12, wanted to continue her studies to become a teacher. They despaired at the fact that even those among them who had benefited from education, were being forced to work as day labourers simply out of need.

The tsunami has had many repercussions, one of which is the fact that work has become scarcer, according to people. Not only were crops washed away, but the salination of land that had been cultivated in the past is a big problem now. Even goats died after eating grass that had become contaminated as a result of a high saline content.

The majority of women and men have said that there is a real need to create alternative livelihoods, but they have no idea how to go about this. The men say they would prefer traditional occupations like animal husbandry, dairy and poultry farming, the rice business, running grocery shops, selling dried fish or making rope, for instance. The women on the other hand are eager to receive any kind of vocational training, such as candle making, tailoring, basketry, and making soap.

Mrs. J Shanthi of Thalanchavadi village of Cuddalore district, a woman with a Bachelor of Science degree, summed up what people felt when talking with LWSI staff. "You show us what to do, we will follow."

Rina Chunder is the Information and Documentation Officer for LWF/DWS in India. LWF is a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.