New hope in Sellur village

28 February 2008

The government has issued a cyclone warning and told people to stay at home. Schools are closed and there is a danger of live electric cables being torn down by falling trees.

Nagapattinam in 2008 has moved on from the disastrous Tsunami which hit the flat, treeless shoreline over three years ago, causing devastation to this prosperous south Indian town, killing thousands of people and injuring and making homeless many more.

Y Care International's partner, Nagapattinam YMCA, which already had a presence in the town, worked initially on disaster relief. Later it was part of the house building programme. Now with the successful completion of over one hundred homes, the YMCA has moved onto long-term rehabilitation work.

Mr G Peter

YMCA Project Coordinator, Mr G Peter, has been working on the Tsunami relief programme since he first helped clear and bury bodies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Since then, he has been the driving force in implementing the house building and re-housing programme for the small community of Adiyan tribal people, whose traditional occupation is begging.

With a hundred houses built and families re-housed in the new village of Sellur, Mr Peter is now working to provide income-generating projects, particularly for women.

Mr Peter, dapper in shirt and pants, weaves his scooter expertly through flooded roads where jets of water spray up to the car windows. Once at Sellur, he invites us into the premises of the tailoring project as protection against the torrential monsoon downpour. Over tea and biscuits, he discusses the challenges and triumphs of his work over the last three years.

A water-logged Sellur village

"Now that we have completed house building for the Adiyans we are focusing on rehabilitation work. Small-scale coir (a fibre made from the husk of coconut) making and tailoring. We've started three tuition centers and hope to start a computer training programme for the women." He is now grappling with the true realities of the work with a community which has traditionally relied on begging to earn a living.

In a society monolithically stratified along caste lines, in which every aspect of life - not just schooling and work, but minutiae such as which well to fetch water from - is deemed pre-ordained according to which caste a person was born in, changing expectations is an ongoing challenge. Caste atrocities against the ‘lowest' castes, which include tribal people, are regularly reported, but Mr Peter remains undaunted.

"The Adiyans are much more developed since moving into the concrete houses. They bathe several times a day and wash their clothes regularly; we have monthly medical checkups. There is malnutrition and anemia but it's improving. They have absolutely changed and if we succeed on the begging side the YMCA will be really proud."

The easy income from begging, plus an entrepreneurial tendency to sell-off the largesse of various NGO and government handouts like stoves and suitcases, has meant that some of the Adiyan women have had a problematic relationship with the various new income-generating schemes provided.

But for most families, the intervention of the YMCA has provided a lifeline to a new and different life. Twenty five year old Pakriamma has two sons. "Our caste is normally beggars but I've never liked doing it. I always used to think it wasn't a nice thing to do. People would shout and say bad things. I tried to get cleaning and washing work instead."

"Before the Tsunami, my sons, Siva and Madavan, used to go begging. I used to worry about them. But now we've moved into the new house our life has improved. We live here more decently. The kids go to school and I do some sewing and embroidery for Mr Peter. It's a nice life, safer and more secure and people give us more respect."

"When I lived in the leaf hut I had no hope for the future or my kids, except the horrible thought that they would become beggars. Now I'm not sure what they can do, but I want them to get qualifications so they have a good future. This place has given me hope."

Mr Peter echos her hopes for the future. "I still have hope and faith in them [the Adiyans]. We have to engage with them and give them a good income. We look after the welfare of the people, especially the girls so they feel free, comfortable and safe. We've started training one hundred people, girls and boys, on the coir project."

Pakriamma's friend, Kaliamma chips in:  "We can sort ourselves out, even if we are poor. Our main concern is that our kids have a better life. That's more possible now."

By Pamela Nowicka for Y Care International