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By Amy White, vice president of internal communications at Cardinal Health
| Dabita, 6, is one of 350 residents of the village of Pillemedu. (Photo courtesy Amy White) |
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Meet Dabita — my new best friend in India.
Dabita is 6 years old and one of 350 residents of the village of Pillemedu. Before the tsunami, she lived on a small half-square-mile island nestled against mangrove forests along the backwaters of the Bay of Bengal. Like her grandfathers and uncles, Dabita's father was a fisherman. As in past generations, Dabita's father would go out to sea every night to fish with the other men, and her mother worked every day with the other village women to clean the day's catch to sell at the local market.
The Pillemedu lived a peaceful, daily rhythm — a delicate but reliable harmony among the villagers, their land and the sea — the true ruler of their world.
But fate would change all that. Long the source of Pillemedu's strength, solace and wealth, the sea would betray them on December 26, 2004.
Life After the Tsunami
When the tsunami hit, many of the men were out fishing. The women were home with the children. As the rush of water came to shore, Pillemedu lost 39 lives, including 22 children. They also lost the island itself — it was completely submerged. The emotional losses were unbearable; the economic losses were catastrophic. Pillemedu lost 79 fishing boats, 504 fishing nets and 36 goats — collectively representing the village's only sources of income to educate their children, invest in their fishing vessels and purchase and raise livestock.
CARE has been working with these villagers to help them relocate their village to the mainland and to reestablish their livelihoods. As we're learning on this trip, CARE's expertise is really in helping disaster survivors all around the world rebuild their emotional, physical and — perhaps most importantly — economic well-being after the disaster. Pillemedu is a great example of the difference CARE makes.
In collaboration with other organizations, CARE is working with Pillemedu to reconstruct permanent homes for each of the families. They're also helping residents create an association to manage the new residential infrastructure, starting first with the housing design and placement on the land. Each 350-square-foot home is a common design, developed with input from the villagers themselves and made of concrete to protect residents from future disasters.
Our Visit to Pillemedu
| The new fishing boats, provided by CARE, were decorated with ribbons to celebrate our visit. (Photo courtesy Amy White) |
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We arrived to great fanfare at the village — the women had gathered to greet our vehicles and immediately began a special welcoming ceremony where they blessed each of us with oil on our foreheads.
We began a tour, organized by the CARE employees who have been working side by side with these villagers for months. They also served as translators, helping us to talk directly with the villagers.
The Pillemedu fishing fleet is back up and running, thanks to the boats CARE has provided to the village. The men and women were eager to show us their boats — about 100 villagers were gathered on their pier as we approached, their boats decorated with ribbons to celebrate our visit. I happily accepted an invitation for a ride, where I got to see some of the inlets and backwaters that now provide their livelihood.
| The women in the village now use a solar-powered dryer to produce high-quality dried fish, which fetch a high price in the market. (Photo courtesy Amy White) |
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With CARE's assistance, the women of the island have formed an association to begin a fish drying business. Using a solar-powered dryer, they produce high-quality dried fish, which is more hygienic and fetches a higher price in the market than freshly caught fish. They work in shifts to clean, dry and package the fish their husbands catch every day. The women in the village gave me a tour of their new machine and talked excitedly about the high-quality product they now bring to market.
In many ways, the physical reconstruction is the easy part. The emotional reconstruction is far more difficult. I don't know where Dabita was when the tsunami hit, or what personal losses she may have suffered, but I'm guessing this little girl has seen and experienced more than anyone should ever have to.
The children followed us everywhere — wanting to shake our hands and hear us talk. But Dabita was not one of the rambunctious, laughing group of children playing together. I noticed her when we were touring the new construction area, when she appeared on the steps in front of the house we toured, curious about the commotion, but on her own solo mission to see what was happening.
Try as I might, I couldn't coax a smile from Dabita. She told me her name, but was too shy or too serious to smile with me.
We toured another house, and there waiting on the outside again, was Dabita. I pointed to her pretty painted toenails and told her I liked her pink toes. She demurred, but still, no smile. Finally, I sat next to her on the smooth new step of her new house, took off my hiking shoe, rolled back my sock and showed her that I, too, had pink toes, just like her! Finally a BIG smile — she put her foot next to mine and giggled. It was a great moment I'll never forget. Dabita was by my side for the rest of the tour.
We were adorned with a special garland and set of shawls, bestowed upon us by each of five village elders and the president of the women's association at a ceremony in a thatch-covered square. Several of the women stood and thanked us for the way we've helped to "console and rejuvenate" them. The men told us of their dreams for the children of the village and their intention to become three times more prosperous in five years.
The villagers escorted us across the field to our vans with the sun setting into a big pink sky and a sliver of silver moon smiling over our shoulders. Teenage girls mustered a new courage in our final moments and began approaching us wildly, taking our hands in theirs and saying in broken English: "Thank you! Thank you!"
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