Rehabilitation of Srilankan Tamils

The ethnic violence in Sri Lanka triggered thousands of Tamil Sri Lankans to leave their home country and land in India as refugees.  India is not a signatory to 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Therefore, Srilankan refugees have no social or political rights. Hence, CRS extends a helping hand to the Sri Lankan refugees on humanitarian basis through TSSS. 

New Temporary Shelter – A pioneering initiative!

The unused structure constructed by the British Military as a godown was used by the local administration for providing shelter to the Srilankan Refugees who came to Tirunelveli District on 25.7.1990. The good old structure was in the verge of collapse. At the request of the Commissioner for refugee rehabilitation CRS came forward to construct a new shelter for the 96 families living in Naranammalpuram camp.  TSSS became the implementing partner to CRS. The back donor was BPRM, USA. It was truly a blessing and good luck for the Sri Lankan Tamils that the government of Tamilnadu allocated Gangaikondan for the shelter programme. It is located just 10 kms away from Tirunelveli city on the National High way, adjacent to land earmarked for the Information Technology Park. It is also surrounded by SIPCOT and ELCOT industries.

Shelter improvement programme:

With the generous support of CRS, Chennai, TSSS carried out shelter improvement programme in two phases. During the first phase of shelter work, 96 shelters were constructed at Gangaikondan where the people of Naranammalpuram were settled. During the second phase of the shelter programme, efforts were made to provide similar safe shelter to the camp people of Chettimedu and remaining people of Naranammalpuram in Tirunelveli district. 

Formation of Steering Committee:

A steering committee was formed for inviting tenders, making bid analysis and choosing the right contractors and commodities. It had met periodically and reviewed the progress of the project. Accordingly the team chose David & Associates, Nagercoil, as the appropriate and eligible company for construction of Temporary Shelter for Srilankan Refugees at Gangaikondan.

Project Monitoring Committee:

The progress of the work was closely monitored by the PMC consisting of the Executive Director, The Building Supervisor (a qualified civil engineer), Resource Manager, Programme Manager and Project staff.

Special Features of New Shelter:

The new shelter has some unique features such as attached toilet cum bathing room, separate kitchen, back–door for ventilation as well as mobility, a hall for 5 people to stay and sleep in, concrete shelf (rack) for storing things, a stylish front elevation, flat room with roof tiles for reducing the impact of hot sun and improving stability of roof and big windows and doors for free flow of light and air.

Ration Shop and Admin Office:

There was a good old building left un-used. Its floors, walls, roofs and windows were found damaged / broken. The floor was completely replaced and the roof was repaired. Walls were renovated. New windows and doors were fitted. A partition was made and the building is converted into a ration shop and admin office.







Children’s Park:

A children’s park has been established for encouraging the children get involved in physical exercise, enjoying leisure and fresh air in the open ground. The basic equipments (Double See saw, Junior slide, Double Swing, Ladder etc) established in every park is also done here in new style and design. Adjacent to the park, a volleyball court has been established for the youth. Sports items like balls, nets, bats etc have been given to them at free of cost. 

Water & Sanitation:

Two water tanks with a capacity of 5000 Litres each have been established in the camp. A bore-well had been sunk for additional ground water supply. Water outlets have been established in each street. Each house has an attached toilet and bathing spot.

FORMATION OF WATSAN COMMITTEES: 

TSSS formed Water and Sanitation Committees (WATSAN) at Chettimedu in January 2010 and at Gangaikondan in February 2010. The committees have been entrusted with the responsibilities of ensuring water availability and accessibility for sanitation purpose and maintenance of the sanitation complex. TSSS conducted a special training on Health and Hygiene in each camp. 

Planting of trees:

Tree planting within and outside the camp had been done with the greater cooperation and support of the Tamilnadu Forest Department. With a view to mark the inaugural function, the ministers, collector and government officials had planted some tree saplings. The refugees must be appreciated for their earnest effort to water them and nurture them properly.

Sri Lankan Tamil Youth Development Programme: 

The Srilankan Tamil youth in camps faced lot of psychosocial problems. Youth who dreamed of a decent living were not able to achieve it and hence they were found depressed and frustrated. Unable to manage with the situations, some suicidal attempts were reported. In order to improve their living condition, TSSS launched youth development program with the noble support of BPRM and CRS. Awareness programmes related to human rights, education, gender equity, life coping skills were conducted. Vocational guidance and skills were offered.

Psychosocial Support and Crisis Management: 

The youth in camps were mentally upset and distressed due to lack of potential employment and income. Women face undue hardships due to unemployment; lack of access to basic sanitation, privacy and eve teasing. Moreover, there is lot of restrictions on the mobility of the community. Hence the people in camps live with stress. Therefore, TSSS organized training for youth on crisis management, life coping skills and psychosocial support. This helped them to boost their coping skills. 

Sports and Games: 

In order to relieve the pressure and stress in youth, sports and games were introduced in camps. Outdoor games such as volleyball, cricket, football etc were encouraged. Annual sports meet was also conducted. It enabled the youth enhance their socialization process. This will socialize the youth and help them build friendship. This also helped them divert their attention from bad habits.

Training on Life Coping Skills: 

The training on Life Coping Skills was planned to encourage the youth to come out of their depression and find out their own talents and potentials. It also helped them to build self-confidence and self-esteem. Moreover, it provided them space for expressing their folk arts. This also enabled them gain a sense of identity. 

Training on Folk arts and Street Theatre: 

KALARI, a famous cultural troop in the southern district planned to train youth in folk arts and street theatre. They had specially designed short-term training for a period of 10 days. It was a residential training and 10 youth from camps were motivated to participate in the training. They had shown greater interest in learning folk arts, singing and street theatre. In addition, the trained youth were given opportunity to demonstrate their talents and potential coupled with social responsibility. They staged their first performance at Gopalasamudram camp that was followed by Palayamkottai on 21.07.2009. A cultural troop has been formed and they have staged various performances at all camps. 

Training in Driving Skill: 

Livelihood of the Sri Lankan Tamil youth was blank due to social stigma and suspicious attitude of the local police. It is in this critical situation TSSS along with the cooperation of district NGO coordination forum lobbied with the government to issue license to the youth who has completed training in driving. TSSS arranged driving classes by paying the tuition fee cum license fee. Likewise, interested youth were also sent for short-term computer courses such as DTP, Ms Office and Tally. 

DISTRICT COORDINATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS: 

Effective functioning of the district coordination committee has been one of the best practices in Tirunelveli District and it is being facilitated by TSSS. This committee helps the NGOs to identify the problems in the camp and respond appropriately to resolve the problems collectively.

The District Coordination committee consists of the following NGO partners: 

1. Tirunelveli Social Service Society – TSSS (Convener)

2. Jesuit Relief Services – JRS

3. Adventists Development and Relief Agency – ADRA

4. Organization for Elam Refugees Rehabilitation –  OfERR

Roles and Responsibilities have been shared among the members to avoid duplication of work and for more efficient use of resources both human and material.

S.N

Name of the NGO

Activity

1

Orgnization for Elam Refugee Rehabilitation (OfERR)

SHGs functioning Health awareness
Young girls association

2

Adventist Development & Relief Service (ADRA)

Health and Sanitation work
Water Environment and Sanitation

3

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)

Educational assistance, Children’s club

4

Tirunelveli Social Service Society (TSSS)

Shelter Improvement and Youth Association Coordination of NGOs

Other success stories:

·      Commemorated International Refugee day

·      Strengthened camp Committees through regular meetings

·      Provided relief measures to the Newly arrived Refugees

·      Lobbied with Government for Nutrition Scheme to camp children

·      Motivated and Mobilized youth for Skill Training

·      Generated awareness and counseled against suicidal attempts

·      Offered educational support to Students

·      Initiated savings and credit among SHGs to eliminate Moneylenders

·      Advocated for taking Motor vehicle license

·      Organized Siramathanam (Communities Social Service)

·      Distributed flood relief measures

·      Ensured accessibility of higher / technical education to hundreds of youth

ENHANCING QUALITY OF LIFE OF MIGRANTS & HIV/AIDS INFECTED (NALAM)

(Supported by MANITESE, Italy & MAGRES)

NALAM denotes Network of Agencies Liaisoning on HIV/AIDS Among Mirgrants. The programme aims to improve the quality of life of migrants and people with HIV/AIDS epidemic. The programme is implemented by three NGO partners in Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and Dindigul districts. Each NGO partner works in two blocks.  The primary purpose of the programme is to identify migrant workers and sensitizing them on their rights and high-risk behaviours that lead to HIV/AIDS infection. The core thrust of the programme is to generate awareness among SHGs, PRIs, CBOs and Government officials who are the service providers. TSSS works in Sankarankoil Block. Some of the efforts included the following:

ü  ART visit                                   -           Every Month

ü  ICTC visit                                  -           At the working areas

ü  Other NGO                                -           Petchi Trust Positive Network

ü  NGO Network Meetings         -           Every month 3rd Tuesday

ü  Support Group Meetings        -           According to the Nellai Sutram Schedule

NELLAI SUTRAM:

Special Training (NGO – Network)

09.11.09                -           Skill up gradation, Vallioor

23 -25.11.09          -           A special training was arranged for Nalam Network staff 

26.03.10                -           Sustainability in the field of HIV, Nellai

HIV/AIDS infected and Migrants at Risk.

26-27.11.09           –          Result Based Management training by CRS at Trichy

02.03.2010            –          Skill up gradation training to selected staff of TSSS was given by ART Medical Officer

07.03.2010            –          Counseling skill up gradation training was given by ART  Counselor

14.03.2010            –          Training to Counselors.