KADAMBADI (NAGAPATTINAM), DECEMBER 25, 2006
AS you enter, they jump up and greet you with so much joy and affection that
you are overwhelmed. Little hands reach up and tug at your shirt. "Saar, how are
you, saar? You are coming from Mumbai? Welcome to our home? My name is Vainidevan.
What is yours? Will you take my photo?" For the 83 tsunami orphans at Awai Sathya Orphanage Home at
Kadambadi in Nagapattinam,
Visitors are often the
source of joy, and distraction.
The single-storey cottage
with a classroom on one side
and a small ground on the
other has been their home
for seven months after they
were moved from Sikal.
Her playful nature betrays
the tragedy they have now almost
overcome. Three-yearolds
Rishia and Arun are the
youngest and their shy smiles
tug at your heart. Arun, the
youngest of six siblings, is
looked after by his eldest sister
Arunmathi, 13.
"When he was two, he used
to utter a few words, but after
the tsunami, he did not speak
for almost three months.
Now he speaks and smiles at
everyone," Arunmathi says.
It is not known how but several
siblings, like Arun and
his sisters, survived the
tsunami while their parents
perished. In spite of the loss,
the children appear cheerful
and in good health.
"The younger ones came
quickly out of the posttsunami
trauma although
they sometimes weep and ask
for their parents. Those
above 10 haven't forgotten
the tragedy but are slowly
getting over it," says an attendent
at the Home.
The children are very attached
to S Suryakala, the
District Social Welfare Officer
and in charge of the orphanage
and call her Amma'.
"To keep the children occupied,
we organise games.
Every weekend there are
puppet shows or magic and
mimicry events," Suryakala
says. Some children, with
names like R Sonia Gandhi,
Parvin Babi, Babita, Rishia
are the cynosure of visitors'
eyes. The children also attend
yoga and karate classes.
"A majority of them have put
the tsunami behind. Immediately
after the tsunami, most
of them would draw or sketch
tsunami scenes. Now they
draw kids playing, vehicles
etc," Rajeshwari, one of the
three attendants, says.
The children have also
stopped asking if the big
waves will come again. They
don't talk about Cuddal or
sea anymore.
The orphanage has a big
room where students of class
1 to 5 are taught. "Others go
to the Nataraja Damayanti
Secondary School nearby,"
Suryakala says.
While the existing home is a
bit cramped for 83 children,
the district administration
and NGOs are building a
huge modern orphanage in
Samantampettai. "It being
constructed at a cost of Rs
3.20 crore. The place has
proper hostels and classrooms.
There will be separate
facilities for boys and girls
and a host of recreational
amenities. We will shift the
children in a few months,"
says District Collector Dr J
Radha Krishnan.
Although there is a flood of
applications to adopt the
tsunami orphans, the Tamil
Nadu government is encouraging
those who want to provide
support without adopting
the children. "The
government has not made
any special adoption procedure
for tsunami orphans.
There is a lot of interest in
those wanting to support the
kids." Krishnan says.
