Nagapattinam, Sustainable Livelihood Program

Background

A Community of Sisters of the Good Shepherd, began a ministry in the District of Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, in June of 2005 to address and alleviate the suffering, devastation, human loss and livelihood loss of the victims of the 26^th December 2004 Tsunami. Initially the relief activities were implemented in various parts and villages, however, the community decided to focus on the District of Nagapattinam that was severely affected by the Tsunami. They felt they could have a greater impact there, as well as address the poorest and most marginalized populations which includes the Dalits. Indeed, the Dalits, also known as “untouchables” fall below the lowest caste in the rigid social hierarchy which governs Indian society. Even today in many areas they remain a disenfranchised and oppressed social group.

Between 2005 and 2007 Good Shepherd Sisters invested $100,000 – Congregational Resources – to provide each family in 16 villages with tools, materials and other supplies (lathe tools, painting materials, goats, cows, tailoring machine, carpentry tools, plumbing tools, weaving materials and brick work tools) to repair their houses and create income generating activities.

In 2007 the Sisters received funds from Save the Children Fund which supported 165 families. The distribution of these funds was in the form of Micro Credits. 

Problem

• Nagapattinam was the most affected area by the Tsunami.
• It is now 2009, and the victims have not recovered from all the damage caused by the Tsunami.
• The Dalit population lost their homes, their fields were inundated with water, and they lost their livestock.
• Discrimination against the Dalit communities was heightened during this disaster; the government and agencies mostly ignored them.
• The Dalit population is extremely poor and mostly illiterate. They were unable to document their sparse savings and property claims, therefore, were unable to access compensation and relocation schemes.
• Many victims are landless farmers, so they use their children in whatever way they can to eke out a paltry wage to provide one inadequate meal a day for the family.
• The Dalits depended on the fishing industry: they would buy fish and sell it in nearby villages to earn a living. However, the Dalits and the fishermen in this area were the most stricken by the Tsunami. 

Objective:

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, in conjunction with other agencies and departments have conducted surveys and assessments to establish the urgent needs of the Dalit population after the Tsunami. They have identified 80 families, from the villages of Keelechetisery, Kadampadi, New Arch Street and Puthur in the District of Nagapattinam with whom, they plan to work. Many of the victims used to be farmers, so they know a lot about cow and goat raising and milking. To address their basic needs, it is necessary to implement Sustainable Livelihood Programs which aim at:

• Providing each one of the 80 families with one cow and two goats;
• Providing the beneficiaries with the opportunity, means, skills and training for a sustainable livelihood in the Milking Industry;
• Training the beneficiaries for community leadership, ownership of the project and management of small businesses;
• Increasing awareness of human rights and enhancing their sense of dignity and self-esteem especially among the most marginalized groups;
• Finding possible water sources to enable them with the cultivation of vegetables, fruit tree cultivation, and grass cultivation for the grazing of their cattle and goats;
• Continuing and developing services to address education, health and medical care and psychosocial counselling by ensuring at least primary education for the children;
• Enabling the participating families to share any available piece of land;
• Training and sensitizing groups on livelihood opportunities, advanced technology and the use of available resources;
• Group participation was encouraged so that they would be able to move forward and elect five to ten members to be leaders and act as monitors of the programs that were being developed. The community and families in these villages are really involved as they move forward with this bigger project. 

Activities

Through family visits, counselling both individuals and groups, the sisters got to know the people. They addressed their immediate needs by helping with food, shelter and clothing and offered financial support with small amounts of money. They also assessed their needs, interests, strengths, abilities, financial status, types of employment and skills. The assessment revealed a clear lack of education as the community consists mainly of manual labourers lacking skills in other fields of work.