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Page 3 of 8
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Weeks – Rehabilitation Work starts and Long Term Plans Emerge
We
continued many of the activities that were started in the third week.
In Koovathur cluster we completed temporary shelters in a few villages.
This was an interesting experience – in one village, Thaydhalikuppum,
the waves had completely shattered a number of houses – but
surprisingly they left many house quite close by standing with hardly
any damage! Several houses that were on a higher ground were also
spared the destruction. People in the villages wanted us to construct
the temporary huts in between two houses – as they felt safer here and
also could share the kitchen facilities from their neighbors. This we
did and people have moved into all the temporary shelters.
In many areas other NGOs and the Govt have constructed huts with
Asphalt sheets. But people are not moving into many of these –
particularly as the summer heat is making the huts very stuffy. We
decided to build only “Keeth” huts (Thatch Huts) – these keep the
inside relatively cool. Since the permanent shelters will take at least
5-6 months to get constructed, it is important to have temporary
shelters that can help people cover the summer. In all the areas where
we have constructed temporary shelters there will not be a problem in
the summer. In other areas, we may need to construct bigger summer
shelters if the people are unable to stay in their huts during the
summer.
In several villages, we have started boat and engine repairs –
the idea being to get as many people as possible to go into the sea and
start off livelihood activities as quickly as possible. In one village
we had several discussions with the villagers on a cooperative boat
leasing idea. Some volunteers are working on this idea. We have started
distributing nets in several villages – in these villages people have
started stitching the nets together.
As part of our vocational training and the boat repair and provision
components, a new and interesting idea has emerged which we are working
on. The government has announced a subsidy for boats and catamarams.
Instead of buying boats, we are looking at helping youth in different
villages set up a boat making unit. This will help us subsidize the
cost of boats – so the fishermen can buy the boats at a lower price.
Also this will help the youth get an income while they make the boats.
It will also help us set up long term enterprises and training
programmes. We are working out the economics and feasibility of this
project. We also looking at a number of alternate employment options
for the people (mainly youth and women) in many of these villages.
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