Women did better with post-disaster govt aid

A 37-year-old woman sipping tea to refresh her during work is nothing too remarkable. However, Devaki from Cuddalore is anything but unremarkable: She is a shining example to several men who lost their confidence after the tsunami hit a decade ago.

The post-tsunami rehabilitation efforts shed light on some interesting but worrisome trends.

A study over a period of 10 years has shown that while women made full and positive use of the government's financial assistance, men frittered away the aid, leading to no change in their conditions.

Under the state-owned Post-Tsunami Sustainable Livelihoods Programme for the Coastal Communities of Tamil Nadu, affected fishermen, especially those in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore, failed to utilise the scheme.

However, this was not the case with the women. “I lost my husband to the tsunami. I had two school-going children at that point of time. I opted for the government's free vocational training. Now I take care of my family and children well,” said Devaki.

She joined a small self-help group (SHG), and now earns more than Rs 7,000 a month, which she feels is sufficient to sustain her family. “I go to my work when my children are in school. I am back by evening, tending to the family. When the time comes to pay school fees, I do overtime,” she said proudly after finishing her eco-friendly paper production work.

Thousands of such Devakis are bravely looking after their families in Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Kaniyakumari and even Chennai districts.

A senior revenue official said the Tamil Nadu government has launched several SHGs' training and rehabilitation programmes, including those for production of footwear and leather products, eco-friendly paper, coir, palm leaves products, candles, micro-concrete roofing tiles and cement concrete hollow-blocks.

“More than 3,000 SHG groups benefited from the programme in over 100 coastal villages affected by the tsunami,” said the official.

On the other hand, it was double whammy for several fishermen who did not use the government aid properly after tsunami destroyed their boats.

“I was scared of re-entering the sea. Therefore, I decided to sell my boat and use the funds to start a chit business, but incurred heavy losses,” said Sagayaraj, a fisherman from Nagapattinam.