Mennonite Central Committee

MCC project assists tsunami survivors in Andhra Pradesh, India

May 27, 2005

In an area where the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami badly damaged the local economy, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is working with Indian Anabaptist organizations to restore families' livelihoods.

MCC is providing some $157,000 Cdn./ $125,800 U.S.* to a joint project with Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India (MCSFI) and the Mennonite Brethren Development Organization (MBDO) to help survivors once again support their families.

Although only two villagers in the larger area lost their lives in the tsunami, the waters destroyed fishing boats and nets, ruined salt farmers' stockpiles of salt and damaged or destroyed local shops and other small businesses, according to MCC India representative Twila Miller, who visited the area in late April.

The project will benefit more than 1,562 families in a dozen different villages. It will provide money, food and new fishing boats and nets to families, as well as help families repair fishing boats, nets and thatch roofing for houses. The project began in March, and distributions are scheduled to be finished by the end of May.

In late April in the village of Tallapallen, 158 families each received palm cooking oil, lentils and rice.

In Giripuram, 129 women and two men from the area gathered at a small church where they waited in line to receive about $44 Cdn./$35 U.S. to help re-establish small businesses, Miller said.

Bujama, a church elder, said she would use the money she received to buy new fishing nets for her husband who lost his nets in the tsunami.

Mary Kondamma, 60, lives with her 18-year-old son, who used to support her by fishing. He lost his boat — and therefore his regular income — in the tsunami. Like many of the women in the community, she will use the money she received to stock up on fish, which she hopes to dry and then resell. Some small business operators will use the money to repay outstanding loans or to restock supplies for their small businesses.

Miller noted that in the hamlet of Pakala Palepallema, recipients also said they will use the money to stock shops where they sell biscuits, tea, food items, basic household items, oil for the engines of fishing boats and spare parts for the tube wells that are needed by salt farmers.

She was also present for a distribution in Kradu Peddpalem, where 241 salt farmers received $50 Cdn./$40 U.S. each to help them get back into the business of harvesting salt from the sea. Quite a few salt farmers were already indebted to money lenders when the tsunami struck and will use these funds to help repay debts, Miller said.

Some farmers had lost their stockpiled dried salt to the tsunami waves; all of them lost their salt beds, which are flat areas of land surrounded by two-foot mud walls into which underground water is pumped and from which salt is harvested.

Nokansani Venketeswarlu, 65, told Miller he was grateful for assistance from the Mennonites and said he will use the funds to purchase food for his family, pay for engine repair and oil for his tube well, an important part of the salt farming operation.

 

* MCC Canada matching funds from CIDA

MCC Canada has received a grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to cover the bulk of this project. The matching funds set aside for MCC Canada by CIDA provided $141,323 Cdn./ $113,058 U.S. out of the total cost.