ABOUT THANE CYCLONE

On 30th of December, Friday at 3.a.m heavy wind started creating havoc around Puducherry, intensifying till 5.30.a.m. Residents got no sleep as the wind kept howling with intermittent crashing sound all over the town. Engineers were working to restore phone lines and power supplies that were cut off in some regions during the cyclone and they knocked out by winds of up to 140kmh. Many People who were staying close to the beach were horror-struck. They were witness to many fishermen huts being shattered. People were too scared to get out when it was still raining because people were not sure whether more trees would collapse. Even the tsunami did not bring the town to a standstill like this. This is the worst disaster people have seen in over 45 years.

Milk rate was a precious commodity, with packets selling at almost double the price.

At least 40 people died when a cyclone hit southern India. Cyclone “Thane” lashed the coast between Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu state and the territory of Puducherry adding the most of the deaths occurred due to electrocution and walls collapsing in the coastal district. This is a state of emergency. Some communities suffer from the lack of water supply. There is no electricity. The electricity supply, which had stopped at the first signs of Thane approaching, will not be reinstalled for about two weeks with over 30 high tension and all low-tension lines being destroyed. Some telephones work – but most do not.

Although all coastal villages were severely damaged, most people were moved to schools and government buildings. The area remains a mere shell to destroyed huts, houses and shops and fallen trees. Then around 1400 residential places, 150 Fishing Boats, 400 fishing nets and so many properties were spoiled in Cuddalore & Puducherry District.

Regardless of all the preparatory measures taken by the state and district administration, assessments have showed the following damages to civil life, especially Pondicherry district:

• So far, 47 causalities have been reported in Tamil Nadu, of which 31 are reported in Cuddalore district.

• In Thottampattu village, located 6 km from the coast in interior Cuddalore district, out of the 400 families residing in the village, over 50 homes have been wiped out.

• Approximately 200,000 thatched huts are damaged by the high winds. This figure has been officially confirmed by the government.

• 70 per cent of trees were uprooted causing disruption to the telephone and electricity lines and road transportation.

• Boats and nets were damaged and washed away due to heavy wind across all the coastal areas in Pondicherry and Cuddolore districts of Tamil Nadu.

• Re-construction of roads and restoration of water supply, electricity and telecommunication would take a week’s time. Totally 47 electricity sub-station has been affected due to wind, of which 18 resumed services and the remaining is yet to resume services.

• 50,000 acres of paddy and agricultural crops were damaged in many places.

• The cyclone has resulted in extensive damage with the loss being estimated at over INR 2,000 crores (CHF 358 million).

In Puduchery two districts, named Karaikal and Puducherry, are the most affected by cyclone. A total of

3,600 families from 25 villages have been affected. The government has mobilized its resources to extend.

Attack against Dalits near Pondicherry

Brutal attack on Dalits settlement in Keezhsathamangalampet village of Pondicherry, India on 1^stof January 2012 made by the dominant caste people on the Melsathamangalam village. Nearly 100 Dalits’ houses were attacked by 300 upper caste members using swords, other sharp and deadly weapons. This problem started to clash between the two sections of people to getting water. The water is demanded after the Thane Cyclone hit at Pondicherry. They were Spoiled Dalit’s so many properties like house, TATA van, televisions, grinding machines, vessels and Vehicles were damaged or set on fire. Mr. Rajendiran – PY.01.AV.2810 (Passion Plus), Mr. Shankar – PY.01.BM.7238, Mr. Raman – PY.01.AY. 9938, Mr. Pazhani – PY.01.AB.1363, Mr. Ramakrishnan – PY.01.AQ.6019 (Tata ACE), Mahendira Van – TN.57.Z.9479 the mentioned persons vehicles and their properties were damaged by the upper caste people.
They assaulted women by sexually abusing them trying to pull off their sarees. Most of the people sustained serious injuries all over their bodies including their heads, necks, backs, cheeks etc due to the cuts caused by the sharp weapons. The dominant Caste people also pushed down in the ground and stamped them with their legs, abusing them using degrading caste names. This atrocious attack was carried out almost two hours, from 6.30 to till 8.30 a.m. In this issue, Mrs. Murugamathi (36) W/o Ramakrishnan, Mr. Vaithi (45) F/o Anjapuli, Mrs. Lalida (42) W/o Subramani, Mrs. Rajeswari (45) W/o Madurai, Mr. Sivachadiran (32) F/o Perumal, Mr. Ajith Kumar (16) F/o Vengatesan & Mrs. Samundeeshwari (31) W/o Daivasigamani they were attacked harshly by the dominant caste people. And also that group was so violent that the 8-month pregnant lady namely mala w/o Pazhani & 50 years old Vithi s/o Anachapuli were hit against the wall in a most inhuman manner. This innocent old man did not know for what reason he was attacked so harshly. Other old women named Lalida (45 years) w/o Subramanian and Rajseshwari (45 years) w/o Madurai both were hit on their head and started bleeding badly. 16 old years’ old boy Ajith Kumar s/o Vengatesan brutally hit and thorn in the road.

Most of the Dalits tried to escape to save their lives. But they were further stopped on their way out and attacked with weapons once again. In this occurrence, 14 Dalits were severely attacked with sharp and deadly weapons, and they sustained terrible injuries. Today their lives and security are threatened.

In the light of the above occurrence, we would like your solidarity in condemning this brutal attack, which is the result of the horrendous caste system that prevails in India.  The fact-finding team to visit and analyzed the situation.  The team and victims talked with the Collector and Sub-collector of Pondicherry to insist to file the case under SC/ST POA Act. We request you to demand immediate action by the respective authorities on this violence against the Dalits in Pondicherry, India

– by,
ADECOM Network Team

ADECOM advocates meet with villagers and officials.

 

Volunteer Experience

I have always wanted to volunteer somewhere in India. I finally got the opportunity on a Sustainable Development Practicum with my school, the American University of Paris. I decided to work with ADECOM Network because I found the speech given by Ms. P. Lalidamballe to be incredibly inspiring. Not knowing what this organization was about I was enthralled with her explanation of the Dalit people and their role in India. I had heard of the untouchables in India, but I never thought that there was still discrimination going on today, even after this was abolished in the 1950s. I also knew about the caste system but have never heard it from someone who has actually lived it. Ms. Lalida discussed the lives of the Dalit people in India and what ADECOM is doing to empower them. ADECOM Network does a surprising amount of work on Dalit empowerment, with separate programs and partner companies focusing on Dalit children, women, and politics. They even have a theater group, Kootu-k-Kural, a joint organization that puts on street performaces and trainings for the Dalit audience focusing on daily issues that they face. I was amazed at their logic when it came to communicating with the Dalit people. ADECOM likes to work at the « grass-root level » which focuses on working directly with the village people and not using a top down approach in communicating their message. For example Kootu-k-Kural entertains people while they are learning about major issues.

It was easy to choose this organization as it is incredibly inspiring. I have done my best to lend a hand in the short time I am here. However, I feel that I have taken away much more than I have left. Everyday I look at new video footage, pictures, listen to Ms. Lalida or Perumal speak, and I learn something new. Every single day I am inspired and all I want to do is remember this experience and remember that people are out there, devoting their lives to an entire community that has been ignored for centuries. I revamped their weblog and updated some of their information, but I know my two weeks at ADECOM are nothing compared to the 18 years of devotion Ms. Lalida has shown.  Of the many experiences I have had at the organization, I especially loved lunch at the ADECOM office.  We gather in the biggest room, everyone sitting in a circle enjoying their meal (which was always incredible).  I truly appreciated the opportunity to listen and learn.  I think those were some of the best conversations I’ve ever had.

Dalit Art

 

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Panchayat Raj Meeting

Date: 25.11.10                                                            Venue: Reena Mahal, Oulgreat

Mrs. Lalida, director of ADECOM stated that the Puducherry government has to conduct the local panchayat election subsequent to 36 years. In 2006 the Puducherry government organized the local panchayat election in three phases in various regions. One thousand one hundred forty eight (1148) members were elected, however, for the past four years the Puducherry government has not confered the roles and responsibilities to the elected local panchayat representatives. At the same time the elected representatives do not know their powers and roles in their respective villages.

On the second of October, ADECOM Network conducted seminar on panchayat raj for social field activist working from grassroots NGOs from Puducherry. The impact of the programme was the activist realized the importance of the local governance in Puducherry. As a follow up action, we decided to organize the seminar on panchayat raj to the elected women representatives. ADECOM Network organized to build the capacity of the local panchayatiraj leaders and also make them aware of their Powers and Responsibilities.

In her address she quoted the words of Mrs. Pratibha Patil, the President of India. She stated that the goal is to provide 50% reservation for women in panchayat and that urban local bodies have already been introduced and should amended this as a law. So in  the Puducherry local election the government should provide 50% reservation to women and also the political parties should implement the same in the upcoming elections. She also requested the Puducherry government to sanction the separate budget for panchayat.

Mr. M. Ramadoss, PMK MP:

In his speech, Mr. Ramadoss stated that today women are developing very well in the entire field, particularly in politics. Because women are involved in politics there is effective ruling structure without any corruption in politics. When Mr. Mani Sankar Iyer, minister of panchayat, from central government came to assess the real situation of Puducherry panchayat the elected women representatives boldly shared their demand with him. Women are not inactive by giving the situation in politics. The beneficiaries demanded him to meet Congress party leader Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to explain the situation of panchayat in Puducherry. He ensured to take them to Delhi to meet Congress party leader Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.

Children’s Theater

CHILDREN’S THEATRE (Kuzhanthaigal Kootharangam)

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ADECOM Network and Kootu-k-Kural began a children’s theater program in 2009. Children’s theatre, is about enhancing and developing the imagination and talent of children though Art, Drama, Dancing, Singing, Yoga, Clay Art, Paper, etc. The mission of this project is to provide artistic skill training to Dalit children who may not otherwise have the opportunity. Dalit folk arts such as Parayattam, Kollattam, Kombattam, Therukootu etc have dwindled in the course of time. Hence our objective is to revive these cultural forms and infuse them into Street Theatre.

Dropout children especially face the problem of early marriage and sexual harassment due to poverty. To avoid such circumstances Kootu-k-Kural provides capacity training to impart knowledge on gender perspective and sensitivity for social justice, democratic principles and human rights. Capacity training helps children choose their areas of interest and helps them with career choices.

The Street Theater Program has drawn the attention of local village people towards their own social and cultural issues. Kootu-k-Kural is a collective voice of emancipation and conveys the issues that the Dalits face via children’s theater. The street theatre also aims to bring equality to both the sexes and impart knowledge about Dalit rights and to inculcate Dr. Ambedkar’s values.

Street Theatre is frequently used as a tool for communicating information  and in particular to bring about attitudinal and behavioral change and changes in life style.  Groups of actors or puppets perform a play containing a particular message with audience participation.

Computer Maintenance Training

Thibault Pastor, Manager – Solution Architect at Logica, volunteered at ADECOM for two weeks, teaching ADECOM and Kootu-k-Kural members computer maintenance skills.

ADECOM and Kootu-k-Kural members giving Thibault a Thank You gift.

“It was a great pleasure to work in such good conditions. The students were motivated, kind, always expecting new information, and so dynamic! The ADECOM/Kootu-k-Kural team is not only a team, to my eyes; it seems more like a family. It seems like a family in which everybody does what he or she has to do, but in an unstressed and friendly way.

My welcome was perfect and I especially thank Perumal and Lalida for letting me lead the sessions the way I wanted even if it was my first time teaching a training session.

I’ve learned a lot of things about myself in the process of teaching at ADECOM and the ways I can improve my teaching skills. I have also learned a lot about my students, about Indian culture, and some Tamil words!

I’ve spent so many lovely moments with all of you that even if I worked hard every day I didn’t feel like it was work.” –Thibault Pastor

ADECOM 2010 Round-Up

• New Years Celebration at ADECOM with Kootu-k-Kural and Women’s Rationalist members.
• Pongal Festival at the Bohi Cultural Center.
• Children’s calendar release with Dalit volunteers at ADECOM including Thiru Mr. Gajendiran from the NCDHR and Nallagodhandaraman.
• On 21/01/2010 ADECOM celebrated their 18 years of achievement. At the Bharath Nivas Auditorium in Auroville the “18 Year Agitate for Dalit Liberation with 400 participants, including Jayakumar (the founder of ADECOM) and the Uthirapathi Justice, who have given their services for ten years.
• Aids awareness program in the village Madagadipet that included speeches on sexually transmitted diseases and a Panchayat question and answer session with students.
• 20 children from Mudhalyarpet and Nataji nagar villages came to ADECOM for a summer camp. This was closely followed by the event for HOPE org, which gives importance to Dalit children in the Puducherry region.
• At the Puducherry Legislative Assembly in May, members submitted proposals attempting to encourage women to participate in politics.
• French volunteer Judith Cloudin was with ADECOM for one week and organized a discussion about global warming for children.
• In the month of June ADECOM participated in a South Indian Dalit Writers meeting facilitated by magazine proprietor Pudija Kodangi and IAS Mrs. Sivangami, who discussed improvement skills for Dalit writers.
• In June ADECOM also hosted for “Children and Adolescent Theater Project” for the 3^rd year. This program is supported by Karuna Trust, which is based in Australia.
• On July 3^rd ADECOM members organized rehabilitation for the fire accident in Thandeeshavaranallore. Twenty huts were destroyed in the fire and ADECOM members provided dress materials and rice to the villagers and helped them with the shock of the accident.
• Arunthathiyar cultural night took place in August, which discussed Dalit empowerment a demanded a 6% reservation for the Arunthathiyar community. This was closely followed by a state level consultation discussing the status of Arunthathiyar children, attempting to reduce atrocities.
• In November ADECOM organized a meeting for women in surrounding villages to discuss their family issues.
• On November 11^th there was a discussion about the power and responsibility of Panchayat leaders. 41 women who were elected were present. Ms. P. Lalidamballe discussed that the Puducherry government has allowed for women to be elected, however many of those elected do not understand the power they have, therefore they do not use it effectively. Mrs Sridevi (Chairman of Puducherry Municipality) discussed women’s liberation and the political participation of women. She explained the importance of having women present in the Panchayat. Mr. A. John Kumar (Vice Chairman of Puducherry Municipality) published a booklet of Panchayat women representatives to ADECOM Network.

 

Partnership Issue and Project Proposal Writing

The Proposal Writing is a major issue for NGOs and Social Organization. Indeed the non lucrative aspect imposes these groups to base partially their financial sustainability on incomes provided by with foundations and governments.

Nowadays NGOs and Social Organization are facing major problems to construct Partnerships. Indeed Foundations and Governments have precisely defined agenda describing which fields of development they want to contribute to. In order to work together the requirement is the matching between Social Organization’s vision of development and Foundation’s criteria. However Foundation’s requirements tend to move away from Humanist Considerations. Their program is rather oriented from a Western point of view on the major issues affecting developing countries. Unfortunately it does not reflect the reality of the needs in these areas. For instead, India is not only facing Malnutrition or AIDS problems, Discrimination constitutes as well a major issue to tackle : in particular among Ethnic Minorities Population as Dalits or towards the Women. The foundations should therefore consider developing countries’ point of view to understand the problem in its entirety.

Moreover not only the Foundations have requirements, Social Organizations do not work with all of them. The main condition is to consider the relationship as a Partnership. “The hand which gives is always above the one which receives”, said Amadou Hampâté Bân, a Malian ethnologist and writer of the last century. This is not the definition of a Partnership and it does not constitute what the Social Organization are looking for. They orient their researches towards relationships which go in both ways, where there is an exchange. The Implementation of Social Projects is an opportunity for Foundations to develop their knowledge in various domains, to share their expertise on different fields and as well to participate to successful accomplishment positive for their notoriety.

This represented the context of my two-week stay in Pondicherry as I gave the training “Project Proposal Writing”. The main purpose of this training was to give theoretical notions and to apply them during workshops so that the trainees could be independent to write Proposals themselves.

My name is Bastien, I work as a Consultant in IT Services for Logica Management Consulting in France and especially in Energy & Utilities Sector. My professional experience gave me the background to prepare, before coming to India, the courses I would impart.

Improving training for animation with children – week 2

My name is still Yannick and I came from France for a two-weeks training session in the context of ADECOM and Planete Urgence partnership.

This second week of the “improving training for children animation” was less theoretical and more animation-oriented. How to prepare and execute activities, how to take care of every children and particularly the youngest ones, how to work as a team. Thanks to the sharing of experience of both trainer (myself) and trainees (KKK members), tips and good practices were discussed and illustrated.

Kootu-K-Kural is currently organizing an expression camp in its cultural centre. It was a great opportunity for a practice session and for an external point of view on KKK activities with children. The interactive debriefing  highlighted good habits and possible improvements as well as application of knowledge on child development.

As planned, the workshop was concluded with an official ceremony and every participants happily came back home with their certificate.