2. Fr. Balaswamy who had helped to set up the rescue and rehabilitation camps in the Manginapudi Parish which fed and shelteed nearly 1000 people for several days after the Tsunami hit said that at the initial stages of the camps rice, utensils, clothes, spice packets were supplied to 1700 people, school kits to kids of three villages. Their school fees for two years also were being paid. In the next stage of rehabilitation the SSC has helped to repair 70 boats in Tallepalam, 19 boats in Pedda Kanuru and 36 boats in Tharangipalem. Nets and utensils were freely distributed to the fisherfolk..

3. Tsunami was an eye-opener for the world to become aware of the poverty in which our people are living in this left out corner, said Fr. George T. HGN, Parish Priest of Tharangini Matha Shirne,of Machilipatnam. Actually it is by accident that 38 pilgrims died in it as they had walked into the sea out of curiosity when the waters receded. When the waters came back in a fury the people who entered the seabed could not trace their way back to safety. Thus they died by accident, he said. The priest felt that Tsunami incident brought the attention of the world to Manginapudi so that they could realize the poverty in which these villagers live. There are no rains since three years and without sweet water nothing grows in their fields and farm cultivation is a wasted labour. The prawn cultivation too has suffered since several years, as there is no market for it abroad. So people depended only on the sea products. But because of the Tsunami the sea bunds were washed away and they could not get inside the sea thus they had nothing to eat, not even drinking water to drink. Now that many are focused on the Tsunami –‘after effect’- they have come to know the situation of these over 300 villages from Machilipatnam to Nagaylanka in the eastern coast and they are trying their level best to assist the impoverished regions, he said.

4. The Jesuit priests: Fr.Kishore and Fr.Selvin of the Andhra Loyola College Vijayawada brought nearly 700 students batch by batch to clean the debris and construct the bund to protect the fields from sea water. They also have distributed milking cows to 7 villages. The JMJ sisters have helped in paying the cost of beach clearance and the construction of bunds he explained. They also have paid for the repairs of 9 boats..

5. Under the guidance of the SSC the Nirmala sisters of Vijayawada have taken up an entire village of Pallitallepalem for long term interests of the people of vulnerable areas aiming at total assistance and rehabilitation of the village. Srs. Vandana and Peniala MSI lived in the village for 15 days sharing the life of the villagers and making a serious attempt to study and survey the village set up. There are more than 300 families most of them fisherfolk who though were not directly affected by the Tsunami but because of the destruction of the main bund could not go for fishing for days. They did not have the drinking water and were reduced to infighting and had filed court cases against each other. The sisters asked the people to withdraw the cases as a first sign of their willingness to live in solidarity. This done they received 30 kgs of rice each for 300 families for several days. 30 nets were distributed and 4 lakh Rupees worth of big nets for whale catching were purchased. Two big boats would be another gift for them for community fishing. The sisters also have plans to construct four big water tanks in the four corners of the village to provide continuous drinking water facility to them. The villagers are divided into groups, the leaders of which meet together to chalk out the planning of self-help projects with the Missionary Sisters and donor agency representatives.

6. Fr. Balaswamy, said that the long-term measures of rehabilitation are in progress in the Tsunami hit areas of the coast line also with the help of Caritas,Ummi,Christian Relief Services and other agencies. Nets and boats have been repaired or purchased and distributed in 48 villages of the Machilipatnam,Uppadu,Avanigadda,Koduru and Nagaylanka mandals.The survey and rehabilitation measures are carried on successfully in these areas not only by regular staff of the center but also by new recruits and volunteers who are trained with crash orientation courses in the animation center and are engaged in the field work round the clock. Low cost housing is under serious planning stage. The Caritas India has accepted to finance the low cost housing project in 10 villages and CRS in other 10 villages each.

7. The first installment for the purchase of nets and boats is already given. This was conveyed to the Diocesan Tsunami Rehabilitation Committee newly set up to monitor Tsunami Assistance under the guidance of the Bishop of the diocese Most Rev. Prakash Mallavarapu. Fr. Balaswamy, the director of the SSC briefed the committee convened by the end of February of the relief measures that has been taken up by SSC. Accordingly 19 big boats at Manginapudi beach have been repaired and 38 small boats at Peda Kanuru have been completed with the assistance from Fr. Paul and Kata Rajulu from Germany. Twenty-three big nets are distributed to Peddapatram people, 15 Anadiga families were helped with small nets at Koduru. Fr. Paul was in Vijayawada for 10 days visiting the Tsunami hit areas and has offered further help. He has also assured financial assistance to construct a School at Rayapalli.Here the SSC has plans to construct 50 houses and repair more nets and boats with the help of donor agencies ( Ummi, Caritas, Mani Tese,Gaeta Province, Fr. Simharayulu etc.). MPDL of Spain has come forward to help 712 children offering them full school kits. They are also willing to pay their school fees for two years. This organization also is spending 13 lakhs to purchase nets and repair boats to help the Anadiga families who have not yet received any other help. Meanwhile the SSC director and staff are carrying on regular visiting, supervising and planning of the approved projects in the villages.

8. Caritas India and CRS programme conductors have picked up 20 new field staff. They are identified and will be given orientation lessons on March 11, in the animation center of Vijayawada. Apart from the normal programme of the center the Director and the staff of the Social Service Center are engaged in planning, preparing, implementing and distributing in the villages on a daily basis.

9. Fr. Balaswamy the director of SSC has met the Joint Collector of Vijayawada to appraise him of the situation of the relief and rehabilitation operations being carried out and assure the government of their readiness to co-operate with the government machinery. The Collector was wonderstruck at the dimension of the work in progress under the aegis of the Catholic diocese of Vijayawada. He was of all praises for the mammoth amount of work that is being done as NGO’s and instructed his office to note SSC as a big NGO for consideration and requested the SSC to come forward to join hands with the government especially in construction of low cost houses in the Tsunami affected areas. He instructed Velugu project officer and his personal Assistant to have a meeting with the SSC director on Feb.7, and officially invited the director to attend the meeting on Feb10. They shared the information about what the government is doing through Velugu and invited the SSC to make use of the resources and personnel of the Velugu programme and assured them of his support.

10. Another meeting of the Diocesan Tsunami Rehabilitation Committee would take place with the local ordinary , the Bishop Most Rev. Prakash Mallavarapu, on March 10, to share information and review the relief measures and planning This meeting is going to take place in Machilipatnam to share with the Parish Priests of the area, information regarding the purchase of nets and boats and other measures. The SSC has up to now carried on real assessment of 26 villages through the Community Based Disaster Management Preparedness Committees CBDP set up during the 1977 cyclone in Vijayawada diocese.

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Diocese of Vijayawada 8, Krishna Dt., Andra Pradesh