EHA

March 1 , 2005

EHA Partners with Tribal Health Initiative to provide relief to fishermen in Kalpakkam:
Kalpakkam, situated 90 kms south of Chennai, faced a lot of destruction in the aftermath of the tsunami. Kalpakkam, generally known for its Nuclear Power Plant, lies near the shoreline and though the number of deaths due to tsunami were comparatively less, most people lost all their possessions. The major populace, the fishermen, whose livelihood solely depends on the sea, were totally devastated by the tsunami. They lost their homes, their boats and nets, and are now residing in temporary shelters put up by the Government.

Immediately after the tsunami stuck, a team of doctors and nurses from Tribal Health Initiative rushed to Kalpakkam to provide medical relief to the victims. Tribal Health Initiative (THI) is a Registered Charitable Trust and works amongst the forest tribals of Harur Taluk of Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu since 1993. It now has a 24-bedded hospital fully equipped with a labour room, neonatal ward, emergency ward and an operation theatre.

Since the disaster, THI has been working in six villages of Kalpakkam, meeting the medical needs of the affected people. Their future plans include purchase of nets for the fishermen, construction of public toilets for the affected community and to provide counseling to the traumatized people. The fishermen need the nets to go back to fishing and earn their livelihood with dignity and self respect. Construction of public toilets (one for 3 to 5 families) will be a great help for the displaced people, especially the women, who are now living in temporary shelters. EHA will be monitoring the implementation of these plans.