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Learning to Love the Sea Again
Ten-year-old Arvind sat playing with his Christmas gifts when the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami shook his house. In a few short moments, his life changed forever — as did the lives of everyone on the tiny island of Car Nicobar off the coast of India.
As the days and months passed, Arvind withdrew completely and would not eat or talk. He no longer played with his cousins, wouldn’t go to school and became terrified of the sea. Frightened that their energetic young son would never recover, Arvind’s parents took him to the Community Study Center (CSC).
CSCs are run through a local partnership between Episcopal Relief & Development and the Church of North India. The CSCs provide education and recreation as well as one nutritious meal per day to children. The intimate and caring atmosphere offers traumatized kids like Arvind a feeling of safety and security, allowing them to concentrate on lessons.
Slowly, Arvind started playing football with his classmates and lost his fear of the water. Now, most days after school, his mother finds him wading with his cousins in the clear blue sea.
