Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Visits Tsunami Affected Villages in Tamil Nadu & Pledges Long-term Support for Survivors
04 January, 2005
From December 30th, 2004 to January 1st, 2005, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, head of Isha Foundation, personally visited villages severely affected by the tsunami in the Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu and provided guidance for the on-site Isha volunteer force of nearly 1,500 people.
Even prior to his arrival at the disaster site, Sadhguru had offered the services of Isha Foundation’s Mobile Health Clinics (MHCs) to the state government of Tamil Nadu, immediately following the calamity. As of the 28th of December, eight mobile health clinics, each staffed by a qualified allopathic physician and a paramedical support team of four, have been providing medical care to nearly 4,000 villagers on a daily basis in severely affected areas. These custom built, specialized MHCs were procured by the Foundation since mid-2003 for its social outreach program Action for Rural Rejuvenation (ARR), and were operating in rural areas of Tamil Nadu before being redirected to the coastal tsunami hit areas.
Sadhguru visited the remote fishing villages of Devanampattinam and Thazhankuda in the Cuddalore district, as well as Seruthur, Vizhunthammavadi, Echchankuppam and Kameswaram in the Nagapattinam district.
Sadhguru and Isha volunteers participated in immediate relief efforts, which included distribution of essential items (i.e. safe drinking water, food items, basic cooking utensils, first-aid material, mats, hygiene kits, culturally appropriate clothing, etc.), assistance with debris removal endeavours, and provision of emotional support to villagers who were experiencing a deep state of shock due to the disaster.
Furthermore, informal meetings were held between Sadhguru and local villagers in order to identify critical needs and secure local liaisons. Based on the outcomes of these meetings, Sadhguru highlighted that alongside immediate relief efforts, a shift in emphasis toward focused and comprehensive long-term rehabilitation measures is necessary.
The Isha Foundation intends to adopt 120 severely affected villages in the Cuddalore and Nagapattinam areas. Sadhguru has proposed several sustainable initiatives for long-term rehabilitation in these villages. These include assurance of continued medical assistance, restoration of livelihood support for fishermen and farmers (via provision of fishing boats and equipment and restoration of agricultural land), reconstruction of houses, delineation of government liaisons to assist with bureaucratic paperwork, adoption of orphans, as well as impartation of yoga as a means to overall physical and mental well-being.
Implementation of above initiatives is already in its initial phases.
Towards this end, the Foundation, with the authorization of the local collector, has adopted the Thiruchorpuram village in the Cuddalore district which will serve as the model for implementing the rehabilitation program.
In addition, a ninth MHC has been procured and will be launched on January 9th, 2005 in the Cuddalore district for its exclusive use in providing sustained medical care within tsunami affected areas.
Three yoga classes are currently being conducted by an allopathic doctor, additionally trained in yoga, in the villages of Kameshwaram, Vizhunthammavadi, and Seruthur. The total participant strength of these programs is 330 villagers. Participants include both children and adults much in need of overcoming their distress.
Reaching out to those most in need, the Isha Foundation has already begun seeking the necessary authorization to adopt one hundred female orphans under the age of seven years from the Nagapattinam area.
“This is a human calamity of enormous proportions. Hundreds of thousands of people are to be clothed, fed, and their lives put back on rails. This is the time to reach out and make a difference” – Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.
…While the damage cannot be undone, we can lessen the suffering of the survivors, who are almost entirely from poorer communities, by reaching out to them during this moment of extreme distress. Starting off the survivors on a whole new life would be the most humane gesture on our part.
