Singaravelan

This is a supplemental post to my sermon of 5th December. It is converted from a HTML web page, one of several that I created after our trip to India with Tearfund in 2006.

We had been told to look forward to this event all week: instead of just a group of us from the UK visiting yet another village, we would be part of a much larger gathering to celebrate the official handover of the 104 houses that EFICOR had built in two villages after the tsunami. These had been among the worst hit villages in the area. The new houses have been built 1km from the sea in a wooded area. In this instance, EFICOR were not involved with replacing fishing boats – another NGO did that.

Everyone then made their way to where a podium had been set up in fromnt of rows of chairs with an awning to keep the heat off. Most of the speakers at the ceremony spoke in Tamil or Malayalam, but Dino Touthang, the Executive Director of EFICOR, spoke in English. He spoke to the community of the need for them to take responsibility for the maintenance of their new houses, and that it was also their duty to build families in joy and peace and free from violence (we had been told in many places that domestic violence is a major problem in Tamil society). He spoke of the benefits of many NGOs working together.

After the speeches, representatives of the supporting agencies were presented with awards, and Phil Bamber accepted one on behalf of Tearfund. Our other leader, Katy Hands, was given the opportunity to cut a ribbon to declare a house open – the householder’s name was Caspar. One of the householders was presented with a large mock key to symbolise the handing over of the properties to the people.