Fishing Equipment Store

The role of Compassion International

The day - December 26, 2004 - began like most other days for Venkateshwarlu, a fisherman in the Pallepalem coastal town, India. He had just finished a long night of fishing and was in the damp, cold wash beach their nets when he saw the water rise.

"A huge wave took my boat to the sea," said Venkateshwarlu the tsunami, the result of a massive earthquake that struck the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake and resulting tsunami in the end, it could claim over 200,000 lives in Asia and Africa.

Venkateshwarlu said he escaped running for his life. But the wave left his ship, the source of their livelihood, on the ground.

"The second wave that was deposited on the rocks," he said. "You have three holes in he and my nets are [destroyed]. I am currently doing a temporary caulking on my boat so it can become tight again. "

Although Pallepalem escaped widespread loss of human lives, massive damage people have tested the determination of its 2,000 families who depend on fishing and agricultural trade. The average family in this community mainly Hindus earns about $ 11 per month.

Ten days after the tragedy, yet the beach was filled with nylon balls pale blue, green and white fluff - the remains tangled, torn it used to be fishing nets. Dozens of boats were launched around the beach and placed randomly in the landfill.

Together with other children in the area, the son of Venkateshwarlu, Thammu Valiyah attends Holy Compassion International Earth Child Development Center in Pallepalem. If it were not for the protection of a natural dam in the village is built, the center would have been swallowed whole by the tsunami.

Compassion has seven child development projects that are within or a short distance from the coast of India. Emergency food aid, drinking water and clothing provided by the compassion has come a long way to alleviate the pain of the disaster. But enormous challenges lie ahead on the way to convey hope, life and future for residents of the village.

Compassion staff have met with affected families and has created a detailed list of their needs after the disaster. In coordination with the Indian government, personal compassion is currently in the process of developing a plan to rebuild the houses that were swept away or damaged by the tsunami. Moreover, compassion is working to replace fishing nets and, in some cases, the repair or replacement of damaged boats in the hope to restore livelihoods of families.

Venkateshwarlu, however, is able to repair their own ship. It is one of the lucky ones.

Sumana Mani is the communications specialist in India for Compassion International. - NU

About the Author

Find tips about eyelid eczema and eyelid irritation at the Eyelid Infections website.

First amateur movies from the tsunami in Samoa