ERD staff member Cara Wolinsky visited Southern India, where ERD is working with the Church of South India (CSI) to rebuild this tsunami-affected area.
In Kanyakumari, the very southernmost point of India, three oceans converge – the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea. According to locals, their convergence is auspicious – but these are the same seas that produced December 2004’s devastating tsunami.
The seashore temple at Kanyakumari is a significant pilgrimage point for Hindus, and is one of the reasons the tsunami killed so many Indian tourists here.
Thatched roofs give way to terra-cotta tiles and finally concrete buildings as we approach the city of Kanyakumari. The area is blessed with balmy ocean breezes, and we pass electricity-generating wind farms on the way. The Southern Ghat Mountains rise steeply out of the ground, some peaks blanketed in green forest and topped by clouds; others barren and rocky.
I am accompanied on the trip by ERD liaison Rev. Robert Sunil. Together we meet with the Bishop of Kanyakumari, who briefs us on the child care project, economic development programs, and hospital we are to visit during our stay in his diocese. He has chosen to focus his tsunami rehabilitation efforts on child care and education, especially for orphans. ERD is supporting the Bishop’s work, in partnership with the Church of South India (CSI).
Our first stop is a children’s hostel at a church in Colochel run by CSI. The church was a makeshift shelter for 800 displaced people immediately after the tsunami. Currently the facilities are providing food, shelter, and education for 100 children who lost one or both parents to the tsunami. They will stay until they graduate high school.
Fifteen-year-old Varghese Arokiajanimol, a student at the hostel, remembers the day of the tsunami. When the wave reached her house, her mother clung tightly to Varghese and her younger sister, but her sister was swept away. Varghese is grateful for the opportunity to study at CSI’s school, and hopes one day to become a doctor.
After visiting the CSI hostel we drive to the sea, where the fishing industry is again thriving. Menacing 10-foot waves break on huge smooth rocks, but the fishermen in their wooden catamarans deftly maneuver between them. They toss their catches into wicker baskets and bring them to the market.
People have built their houses right up to the high tide line, with the sea lapping their front doors. Sandbags are piled several feet high in front of one house, a home-grown attempt at disaster mitigation. Some of the houses still bear scars from the tsunami, with wreckage strewn in front.
