Tsunami three years on: building to last

The villagers of MGR Nagar are used to being marginalised;  the majority of them belong to the Irular (low caste) tribe.

Before the tsunami the men would hire themselves out as daily labourers (coolies) on fishing boats. They lived in thatched huts which, along with their limited belongings, were wiped out in the tsunami of 2004.  Although they were used to rebuilding their thatched huts each year after annual monsoons, this time they faced a huge uphill struggle. The fishing community no longer wanted to associate with them, having also lost fishing boats and nets, and were unable to provide the Irular community with any employment opportunities. When the fishing communities  chased them out of their village, refusing to share any tsunami support a local organisation provided the Irular tribe with land, and Tearfund partner agency, Discipleship Centre, are now building 92 permanent concrete homes for the community.

The Irular residents added:

“Previously when it rained, the old huts used to leak and water came through; now we have houses we won’t have to fix every year, and when it rains it won’t leak!  Children used to fall sick because of the damp. We’re also happy to be living in a clean environment; before we used cow dung for the flooring; rats used to come in and eat things and bite people; now we won’t have that nuisance.  Only in our dreams did we ever think of having such a house.  The only thing we can say is thank you – in our lives we will never forget what you have done.”