The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Bringing back hope in them

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Bringing back hope in them

Subha J. Rao

After the birth of the baby, Pavithra feels she has a reason to live. After the birth of the baby, Pavithra feels she has a reason to live.

COIMBATORE: Until a fortnight ago, this group of tsunami survivors brought in from Nagapattinam for rehabilitation merely existed. Now, they have come alive, taken on familial roles and line up to fondle 20-day-old Mose.

The infant has done what hours of counselling could just about manage to do — bring back hope to victims. Fifty-odd people have so far been brought to Coimbatore by the Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation, which comprises members of all faiths. It is led by Reverend William Moses, former Bishop, CSI Diocese, Coimbatore. They are housed at Kavundampalayam and Giri Nagar in Saibaba Colony under the aegis of the Shanthi Neethi Kendra, a trust that serves the mentally ill. The patients do not suffer from just physical injuries; the mental agony of losing their loved ones manifests itself in various forms.

Pavithra, Mose's mother, was a wreck when she first came in. She was pregnant when her two children and parents were washed away by the wall of water that crashed on their hut at Velankanni. She developed suicidal tendencies. She was brought to the Kendra when she was nine months pregnant. Social workers and the community rallied around her and convinced her that she had a reason to live.

The impromptu ``valaikappu'' they organised for her did the trick. After that, Pavithra was a different person. She now holds her bonny baby as if he is the only light in her life. Coming to the Kendra has changed life. "Oru sontham kadacha mathiri irukku," she says (I feel I have found a relative). Revathy from Nagapattinam, who suffered extensive burns a year ago while cooking, affecting mobility, and another middle aged woman who has come in with a severe heart problem, look upon Mose as their own child, helping Pavithra clean him up and taking turns to hold him. For Revathy, even a simple act such as holding a baby is painful. Until her recent re-surgery, she could not even move her arms.

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