Activities carried out by Karunalaya Social Service Society for Tsunami Relief and Recovery

Karunalaya Social Service Society has been catering to the needs of the fishermen community of North Chennai and caring for street children for past ten years. The on-going services to the fishermen community became more vital after the community was struck by the tsunami of 2004.

Transport services to School going children

The fishermen who lost their houses in North Chennai were shifted to temporary shelters in Kargilnagar. Due to water logging and the fire accidents, the affected families had to be again shifted to interim shelters at Ernavur. Due to these constant shifts, the worst affected are school going children whose schools are almost more than 12 kilometers of distance. Children could not travel and the risk of discontinuation of education was felt. At this juncture Karunalaya came forward to provide transport facilities by way of providing three buses. This facility is utilized by 3000 children. Towards the end of December, 2005 due to the scarcity of the bus availability, the district administration’s help was sought to arrange for the same facilities with the help of Metro Transport Corporation.

Other Activities to Affected Children

* Ballwadi for the children aged between 2-5 years. Nearly 100 children attend every day.
* Nutritious food like milk, biscuits, egg and sundal are provided to 1000 children on a daily basis.
* Uniforms, notebooks, geometry boxes and other education materials were distributed to 3000 children. Education fees as well was given.
* 10 days camp was conducted for the children.
* A trip to V.G.P Universal Kingdom was undertaken.
* 280 children were enrolled for academic pursuits during this academic year.
* Evening coaching classes are conducted to enable the students to study better. Their talents are identified through children’s clubs activities and they are given opportunities and incentives to nurture them.

compiled by Mr. John Packiaraj