General's representative visits tsunami locations in India
General's representative visits tsunami locations in India
CHENNAI, 1 February 2005 – AS Special Representative of The Salvation Army's world leader (General John Larsson), Commissioner Lalkiamlova, International Secretary for South Asia, visited areas of southern India to witness developments in the Movement’s tsunami emergency relief and rehabilitation programme. The communities of Kadiyapattinam and Kanyakumari suffered greatly when the tsunami hit the south-east India coastline on Boxing Day. That same day, Salvation Army relief teams were on site, providing cooked food to families who had seen their community devastated.
Like so many other coastal communities, the fishermen not only provide income for their own families but employment for others supporting the industry. The first steps in replacing fishing equipment have begun. Commissioner Lalkiamlova and Commisioner P. D. Krupa Das (leader of The Salvation Army’s South East India Territory) inspected an Outboard Motor Repair Project, to meet the teams of workers who are overhauling and bringing back to working order boat engines recovered after the tragedy. Replacing boats and nets will be a mammoth task, but the psychological scars have to be overcome if fishermen are to take to the sea again.
Commissioner Lalkiamlova was joined by his wife, Commissioner Lalhlimpuii, as the first two repaired boats took to the water. A prayer of dedication was offered, asking God's blessing and help upon families as they try to rebuild their lives.
Father Geno Jose, the Roman Catholic Priest in Kadiyapattinam, welcomed Commissioner Lalkiamlova to the village and thanked him for the service and support of the relief teams. He spoke of the tremendous relationship developing between the two churches which has enabled this programme to develop and of the plans The Salvation Army has for assisting with the medium term rehabilitation programme.
Announcing that The Salvation Army had that week approved a US$3.3 million programme for the region, which will include continued relief for families still in recovery. provision of boats and nets, housing and livelihood regeneration, Commissioner Lalkiamlova thanked Father Jose for the warm welcome into this Roman Catholic community and the opportunity to share in the recovery process.
The Church has made areas available for The Salvation Army to establish counselling centres, mobile clinics (from The Salvation Army's nearby Catherine Booth Hospital in Nagercoil) and the support of their community leaders in managing the community's clean-up operation. Six hundred workers are receiving food from The Salvation Army in exchange for helping clear debris and rubble from the town centre and seafront. The Catherine Booth Hospital is currently treating up to 150 tsunami victims each day.
The programme announced this week is the first of many recovery programmes planned by The Salvation Army for the South Asia region. To help with the coordination of activities, a new office has been established in Chennai. Commissioner Lalkiamlova declared the new office open, explaining to the crowd that the purpose of this Salvation Army Relief - Zonal Coordination Office is to provide a well-coordinated response to the disaster and subsequent recovery programme.
The ceremony had an international flavour due to the presence of Salvation Army project writers from many areas of the world currently in India to help design appropriate programmes to help with the recovery and rehabilitation of the worst-hit areas.
