Tsunami Relief And Rehabilitation Work
"The Tsunami waves had victimized millions just by a touch; Rotary District 3230 deciphered millions of ways to touch their lives, and continues doing so till date."
After the worst ever disastrous Tsunami Tragedy struck the Asian Coastal areas, the RI District 3230 relief activities started off by providing;
• Medicines, food and clothes,
• Rotary Relief Kits,
• 150 Shelter boxes worth Rs one crore specially procured from UK
• adoption of 4 fishing hamlets,
• Hi Tech fiberglass Boats with Life Jackets, Life Buoys, Refrigeration Tanks;
• New clothes sent to Andaman along with Relief Kits.
• Teaching the fishermen better technologies of fishing and also land sea communication skills.
• A computer Centre, Gym, Play area, A vocational Training Centre, and a Library at Kanathur Reddy Kuppam, Rotary Model Village.
• 3 Community Halls at Alambarikuppam, Kadapakkam and ThandumariammanKuppam.
• 250 cycles from Australia for the children of Kadapakkam.
OPERATION BEYOND BORDERS
PALAYAR (RID 2980)
53 Trawlers weighing 12-15 tonnes each washed ashore by the Tsunami waves at Palayar near Chidambaram of RI District 2980 were retrieved and refurbished by District 3230 Herculean retrieval task greatly appreciated by the fishermen, collector of Nagapattinam and the Government of Tamil Nadu.using two 20 ton cranes, a couple of winches and generators along with a team of Marine Surveyors and Naval architects from UK who stayed for more than a fortnight at Palayar and worked out the logistics to transform these into seaworthy vessels, all at a cost of about 17.5 Lakhs.
• The milestone dedications to the fishing community of Pazhayar, RI District 2980 were an ICE PLANT, Fish Net Repair Yard and a Community Centre at a cost of 55 Lakhs on 13th April 2008 by Trustee and Past Rotary International Director Rtn. Kalyan Banerjee.
Going little above the proverbial fact of teaching just to fish, technological advancements in fishing technology has been continuously introduced in addition to the provision of hi tech boats and accessories, for qualitative and quantitative improvement in fishing and thus in living conditions of the Pazhayar fishing community. TANSTIA will train and be with the fishermen for another 12 months from the inauguration till the fishermen community is fully conversant with the operation of the Ice plant. The Rotary and the fishermen community will allocate a portion of the profit saved for the maintenance of the ice plant and other improvements.
Global Positioning System
To start with, R I Dist 3230 Tsunami Relief committee has also provided one Carman Garmin GPS (Global Positioning System) Map 178C with external Antenna & Dual frequency transducer to fishermen community at Pazhayar on this occasion. This system enables to determine the location, direction and the time with available quantity of fish in that area. This system will save the time of the fishermen and enable them to get a good catch.
PROJECTS IN THE PIPE LINE
PULIKAT ISLAND (50KM NORTH OF MADRAS)
R I Dist 3230 Tsunami Relief Committee is also building a Community Hall, Ice plant and renovating 5 schools in Pulikat Island at a cost of Rs.1.2 crores with funding from Sakal Group of Publications, Pune, Rotary club of Pune Central and Dist 9680, Australia. for the benefit of the fishermen community in 14 villages in that
A school built at a cost of Rs 22 lakhs with funding from National Solidarity Fund.
The participation of corporates and philanthropists outside the Rotary World like SAKAL and GE is an outcome of purely an appreciation and commendation of the Tsunami Relief activities by RI District 3230. We record the immense support by Shri N Ram, The Chief Editor, The Hindu for his unstinted support all through the activities.
OVERSEAS PARTNERS
RID 9680 (Australia), RID 9270 (Durban), RC of Farhame Meon,UK, AND MANY OTHERS
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION BOOTH:
RI District 3230 has been exhibiting the Rotary Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Projects, to honour the donors and voluntary contributors by displaying their names and display of the Tsunami Projects of neighbouring RI Districts too carried out utilizing the National Solidarity Funds at the Rotary International Convention Booth consecutively for the last three years.
TRUE REFLECTIONS
The bulletin Tsunami Touch carries the complete details of the Tsunami Relief Accounts thus assuring transparency in the collection and distribution of funds involved. A National Committee for solidarity of funds in South Asia Fund in India formed by the Rotary Foundation of the Rotary International to identify appropriate projects, streamline the distribution of funds and oversee the implementation of the projects in a way that will best address the needs of the Tsunami affected communities granted a sum of Rs 65 Lakhs to RID 3230 for its Tsunami Relief Work.
Impressed by the Tsunami Relief Work of District 3230, voluntary contributions keep flowing in reaffirming the tremendous confidence reposed in the planning and the organized execution of the Tsunami Relief Work of 3230. Neither the funds flow nor the serving spirit of Rotarians has dwindled. The Tsunami Relief Committee formed in early 2005 which met regularly every week still continues to meet and chalk out procedures for the best utilization of the funds under the leadership of Centennial District Governor Rtn Benjamin Cherian. Though this tsunami has been a blessing in disguise to the fishing community, still let us pray no more of such disasters strike again.
